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Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2008  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/catalogueofexliibOOnort 


CATALOGUE  OF  AN  EXHIBITION 


OF 


ONE  HUNDRED 


FAMOUS  FIRST  EDITIONS 


IN  ENGLISH  AND   FRENCH    LITERATURE 


FROM 


DECEMBER  1ST   TO   14TH 


1909 


ERNEST  DRESSEL  NORTH 

4  EAST  39'rH  STREET 
NEW  YORK 


CATALOGUE  OF  AN  EXHIBITION 


OF 


ONE  HUNDRED 


FAMOUS  FIRST  EDITIONS 


IN  ENGLISH  AND   FRENCH   LITERATURE 


FROM 


^DECEMBER  1ST   TO   14TH 


IflOO. 


ERNEST  DRESSEL  NORTH 

4  EAST  39th  STREET 

NEW  YORK 


THE  TROW  PRESS 
NEW  YORK 


>  r5H8 


1 


FOREWORD 

The  object  of  this  exhibition  is  to  illustrate  the  present 
tendencies  in  book  collecting.  It  must  be  apparent  to 
careful  observers  of  the  trend  of  collecting  that  fads,  like 
dogs,  have  their  day,  and  that  he  who  invests  in  books 
M'ith  a  purely  speculative  interest  must  determine  first 
the  line  in  which  he  is  to  collect,  and  then  ask  himself  if 
his  choice  is  a  profitable  one,  and  interesting  to  others, 
no  matter  how  attractive  it  may  be  to  him. 

The  great  auction  sales  in  America  since  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War  are  fairly  indicative  of  the  tastes  and 
tendencies  of  the  collector,  while  a  study  of  prices  is 
most  interesting  to  those  who  care  to  investigate.  One 
or  two  great  central  streams  are  to  be  found  in  all  this 
variety  of  collecting.  Within  a  brief  period  book 
libraries  in  America  will  rival  those  on  the  Continent 
and  in  England.  In  view  of  such  libraries  as  those  of 
I^Ir.  Hoe,  INIr.  Morgan,  Mr.  Church,  and  Mr.  Halsey, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  they  do  rival  the  great  private  col- 
lections abroad. 

History,  it  is  said,  repeats  itself,  and  the  experiences 
of  these  collectors,  if  written,  would  make  interesting 
reading  to  the  iminitiated.  Most  men  who  have  formed 
great  libraries  have  found  their  hobby  a  recreation,  a 
relief,  and  a  fountain  of  joy  to  their  tired  nerves,  a  veri- 
table Elysium  for  their  weary  spirits.  The  same  quali- 
ties that  insure  success  in  the  pursuit  of  fortunes,  or 
honors  of  any  sort,  are  essential  in  the  book  collector; 
interest,  knowledge,  and  what  may  be  termed  scent. 

^lany  a  successful  "  find  "  has  come  from  a  percep- 
tion of  what  is  great,  lasting,  and  permanent,  through 
instinct  rather  than  knowledge. 

The  widening  interest  in  the  great  monuments  of 
English  literature  is  one  of  the  deductions  to  be  made  by 
a  student  of  tendencies  in  collecting  during  the  last  forty 

8 


402919 


years.  Will  the  first  folio  Shakespeare  ever  fetch  less 
than  £2,500,  or  Walton's  "  Complete  Angler  "  sell  for 
a  more  moderate  price  than  £1,200? 

The  books  in  this  exhibition  of  One  Hmidred  Famous 
Books  in  EngUsh  and  French  literature  are  not  selected 
exclusively  for  their  rarity,  or  for  their  fame  above  100 
other  books  which  some  one  else  might  have  selected,  but 
they  may  fairly  be  called  famous  books  which  are  repre- 
sentative of  the  time  in  which  they  were  written,  or  of 
the  authors  who  wrote  them. 

Obviously  such  an  exhibition  must  be  composed  of 
books  which  are  accessible.  Twenty-five  experts  will 
readily  select  the  first  twenty-five  books — Shakespeare, 
JNIilton,  Spenser,  Chaucer,  Goldsmith,  Johnson,  Bacon, 
Fielding,  etc.  Such  authors  occur  to  the  mind  at  once, 
but  after  the  first  fifty  are  selected,  "  Aye,  there's  the 
rub!" 

In  this  catalogue,  where  there  is  more  than  one  vol- 
ume, only  the  title-page  of  the  first  volume  is  given. 
For  example,  Defoe's  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  was  pub- 
hshed  in  three  parts — the  first  and  second  in  1719  and 
the  third  in  1720.  Obviously  the  descriptions  are  brief, 
but  particular  attention  has  been  given  to  accuracy.  It 
would  be  an  easy  matter  to  give  an  account  of  the  impor- 
tance of  the  books  displayed,  but  it  is  hoped  that  this  is 
rendered  unnecessary  by  the  fame  as  well  as  the  distinc- 
tion of  the  books  included. 

The  bibhographical  and  literary  notices  attached  to 
the  books  are  in  many  cases  selected  from  the  able  notes 
published  by  the  Grolier  Club  of  the  City  of  New  York 
at  the  time  of  their  exhibition  of  "  One  Hundred  Books 
Famous  in  English  Literature,"  given  in  1902.  Ac- 
knowledgment is  hereby  made  to  this  interesting  and 
able  catalogue. 

The  earhest  book  displayed  by  the  Grolier  Club  was 
Caxton's  edition  of  Chaucer's  "  Canterbmy  Tales,"  pub- 
hshed  in  1478,  and  the  latest,  Whittier's  "  Snow- 
bound," published  in  1866.  In  this  exhibition  Sidney's 
"  Arcadia,"  1590,  is  the  earliest  book  shown. 


MATTHEW   ARNOLD 

(1822-1888) 

ESSAYS  IX  CRITICISM.  By  Matthew  Arnold, 
Professor  of  Poetry  in  the  University  of  Oxford.  Lon- 
don and  Cambridge:  Macmillan  &  Co.,  1865. 

12mo,  original  cloth,  uncut.  $22.50 

The  First  Edition.  A  Presentation  copy  with  the  following  inscription 
in  the  handwriting  of  Matthew  Arnold :  "  To  Mrs.  Lingen,  with  the  au- 
thor's best  regards,   February  11th,  1865." 

In  a  letter  to  his  mother,  dated  January  21,  1865,  Matthew  Arnold  says: 

"  My  Essays  are  nearly  printed,  but  they  have  taken  a  long  time,  and  till 
I  have  finally  got  the  Preface  to  stand  as  I  like,  I  shall  not  feel  that  the 
book  is  off  my  hands.  The  Preface  will  make  you  laugh.  I  see  the 
Nonconformist,  Miall's  paper,  of  all  papers  in  the  world,  has  this  week 
an  article  on  Provinciality,  and  speaks  of  me  as  '  a  writer  who,  by  tlie 
power  both  of  his  thoughts  and  of  his  style,  is  beginning  to  attract  great 
attention.'  And  the  new  number  of  the  Quarterly  has  a  note  speaking 
of  my  '  beautiful  essay  on  Marcus  Aurelius,'  and  urging  me  to  translate 
Epictetus,  so  as  to  make  him  readable  by  all  the  world.  So  I  think  the 
moment  is,  on  the  whole,  favorable  for  the  Essays;  and  in  going  through 
them  I  am  struck  by  the  admirable  riches  of  human  nature  that  are  brought 
to  light  in  the  group  of  persons  of  whom  they  treat,  and  the  sort  of 
unity  that  a  book  to  stimulate  the  better  humanity  in  us  the  volume  has." 

The  essays  had  previously  appeared  in  various  Reviews,  and  in  the 
Cornhill  Magazine.  The  first  edition  contained  nine  essays,  but  in  the 
second  edition  of  the  volume,  which  did  not  appear  imtil  1869,  the  preface 
was  condensed,  another  essay  added,  and  a  few  other  changes  made. 

Later,  on  March  3d,  Matthew  Arnold  writes:  "I  hear  my  book  is  doing 
very  well.  The  Spectator  is  very  well,  but  the  article  has  Hutton's  fault 
of  seeing  so  very  far  into  a  millstone.  .  .  .  The  North  British  has  an  ex- 
cellent article,  treating  my  critical  notions  at  length  and  very  ably.  They 
object  to  my  'vivacities,'  and  so  on,  but  then  it  is  a  Scotchman  who  writes. 
The  best  justification  of  the  Preface  is  the  altered  tone  of  the  Saturday." 

To  Miss  Arnold  he  wrote  in  November,  1865:  "...  I  have  had  a  good  deal 
from  America,  and  was  therefore  the  more  interested  in  reading  what 
you  sent  me.  The  North  American  Review  for  July  had  an  article  on  me 
which  I  like  as  well  as  anything  I  have  seen.  There  is  an  immense  public 
there,  and  this  alone  makes  them  of  importance;  but  l)esides  that,  I  had 
been  struck  in  what  I  saw  of  them  on  the  Continent  in  the  last  few  months, 
both  with  their  intellectual  liveliness  and  ardour,  with  which  I  had  before 
been  willing  enough  to  credit  them,  as  one  of  the  good  results  of  their 
democratic  r<5gimes  emancipating  them  from  the  blinking  and  hushing-up 
system  induced  by  our  circumstances  here — and  also  with  the  good  effect 
their  wonderful  success  had  produced  on  them  in  giving  them  something 
really  considerable  to  rest  upon,  and  freeing  them  from  the  necessity  of 
being  always  standing  upon   their   toes,   crowing.     .     .     ." 


PRIDE 


AND 


PREJUDICE: 

A  NOVEL. 

IN  THREE  VOLUMES. 


AUTHOR  OF    "  SENSE  AND  SENSIBILITY. 


VOL.   I. 


Eontion: 

PRINTED    FOR   T.  EGERTON> 

MILITARY    LIBHARV,   %VHIT£H&I,L. 

1813. 


JANE  AUSTEN 

(1775-1817) 

PRIDE  AND  PREJUDICE:  A  NOVEL.     In 

Three  Volumes.  By  the  Author  of  "  Sense  and  Sen- 
sibility." Vol.  I.  London:  Printed  for  T.  Egerton, 
Mihtary  Library,  Whitehall.    1813. 

3  vols.,  l6mo,  half  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  top,  uncut,  by 
Stikeman.  $125.00 

Egerton  published  "Sense  and  Sensibility"  in  1811,  while  "Pride  and 
Prejudice"  (originally  named  "First  Impressions"),  which  had  been  fin- 
ished in  August,  1797,  was  first  offered  by  Miss  Austen's  father  to  Cadell, 
the  famous  publisher,  in  the  following  letter: 

"  Sir — I  have  in  my  possession  a  manuscript  novel,  comprising  3  vols., 
about  the  length  of  Miss  Burney's  '  Evelina.'  As  I  am  well  aware  of 
what  consequence  it  is  that  a  work  of  this  sort  shd  make  its  first 
appearance  imder  a  respectable  name,  I  apply  to  you.  I  shall  be  much 
obliged,  therefore,  if  you  will  inform  me  whether  you  choose  to  be  con- 
cerned in  it,  what  will  be  the  expense  of  publishing  it  at  the  author's  risk, 
and  what  you  will  venture  to  advance  for  the  property  of  it,  if  on  perusal 
it  is  approved  of.  Should  you  give  any  encouragement,  I  will  send  you 
the  work. 

"  Steventon,  near  Overton,  Hants. 
"1st  Nov.,   1797." 

Cadell  refused  the  book  without  reading  it,  and  it  was  finally  carried 
to  Egerton,  who  accepted  the  story  and  made  it  into  an  attractive  volimie, 
although  Gifford,  who  afterward  read  it  for  Murray  with  a  view  to  pub- 
lishing "  Emma,"  tells  us  that  it  was  ".  .  .  wretchedly  printed,  and  so 
pointed  as  to  be  almost  unintelligible." 

"  Mansfield  Park  "  and  "  Emma,"  like  her  two  earlier  novels,  were  issued 
anonymously  during  Miss  Austen's  lifetime.  Though  the  author's  name 
was  an  open  secret,  it  did  not  appear  in  any  of  her  books  until  the  year 
after  her  death,  when  her  brother,  Henry  Austen,  announced  it  in  a  short 
biographical   notice   prefixed   to   "  Northanger   Abbey "   and   "  Persuasion." 

One  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  were  received  from  the  sale  of  "  Sense 
and  Sensibility,"  and  less  than  seven  hundred  pounds  from  the  sale  of  all 
four  books  issued  before  the  two  novels  of  1818. 

The  work,  "Pride  and  Prejudice,"  "my  own  darling  child,"  as  Miss 
Austen  called  it,  appeared  in  .January,  1813,  and  she  says  of  it:  "  There  are 
a  few  typographical  errors ;  and  a  '  said  he,'  or  a  '  said  she,'  would  some- 
times make  the  dialogue  more  immediately  clear;  but  I  do  not  write  for 
such  dull  elves '  as  have  not  a  great  deal  of  ingenuity  themselves.  The  sec- 
ond volume  is  shorter  than  I  could  wish,  but  the  difference  is  not  so  much 
in  reality  as  in  look." 

A  rather  interesting  story  in  regard  to  "  Northanger  Abbey "  is  that  it 
was  sold  to  a  publisher  in  Bath  for  £10  in  1803.  He  was  afraid  to  print 
it,  fearing  its  failure,  and  was  glad  to  take  back  his  money  and  return  the 
manuscript  to  one  of  her  brothers  a  few  years  later,  not  knowing,  till  the 
bargain  was  complete,  that  the  writer  was  also  the  author  of  four  popular 
novels. 


SCENES 


DE 


LA  VIE  DE  PROVINCE 


PAR 


M.  DE  BALZAC. 


premier  volume. 


PARIS. 


MADAME  CHAILLES-BECHET,  LIliRAIRE , 

qvki  DES  AOGOSTins,  It.  59. 

1834. 


HONORE  de  BALZAC 

(1799-1850) 

SCENES  DE  LA  VIE  DE  PROVINCE  PAR 
M.  DE  BALZAC.  Premier  volume.  [Eugenie  de 
Grandet.]  Paris:  Madame  Charles-Bechet,  Libraire, 
quai  des  Augustins  N.  59,  1834. 

Svo,  half  crushed  levant  morocco,  uncut,  by  Alio.  $45.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  the  original  paper  covers  preserved.  Eugenie 
Grandet  was  written  during  the  year  1833,  and  published  late  in  December 
of  that  year  or  early  in  1834. 

While  at  work  on  it  Balzac  wrote  to  his  sister: 

"  Ah !  there  are  too  many  millions  in  '  Eugenie  Grandet ' !  But,  you 
goose,  since  the  story  is  true,  would  you  have  me  do  better  than  truth?  " 
However,  at  the  end  of  the  year  he  wrote  to  Madame  Carraud:  "  I  can  an- 
swer nothing  to  your  criticisms,  except  that  facts  are  against  you.  In 
Tours  there  is  a  man  who  keeps  a  grocer's  shop  who  has  eight  million 
francs;  M.  Eynard,  a  mere  peddler,  has  twenty  millions;  he  had  in  his 
house  thirteen  millions  in  gold,  he  invested  them  in  1814,  in  government 
securities  at  56  francs,  and  thus  increased  his  thirteen  millions  to  twenty 
millions.  Nevertheless,  in  the  next  edition,  I  will  make  Grandet's  fortune 
six  millions  less." 

On  January  30,  1834,  writing  to  the  same:  "You  have  been  very  little 
affected  by  my  poor  '  Eugenie  Grandet,'  which  so  well  portrays  provincial 
life;  but  a  work  which  is  to  contain  all  social  characters  and  positions  can, 
I  believe,  be  understood  only  when  it  is  completed." 

The  book  brought  immediate  fame.  So  great  was  its  success  that  Balzac 
feared  the  public  would  forget  his  other  books:  "Those  who  call  me  the 
father  of  '  Eugenie  Grandet '  wish  to  belittle  me.  It  is  a  masterpiece,  I 
know,  but  it  is  a  little  masterpiece;  they  are  very  careful  not  to  mention 
the  great  ones." 

"  The  pathos  of  Eugenie,  the  mastery  of  Grandet,  the  success  of  the 
minor  characters,  especially  Nanon,  are  universally  recognized.  The  im- 
portance of  the  work  has  sometimes  been  slightly  questioned  even  by  those 
who  admit  its  beauty;  but  this  questioning  can  only  support  itself  on  the 
unavowed  but  frequently  present  conviction  or  suspicion  that  a  '  good '  or 
'  goody '  book  must  be  a  weak  one.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  book  can  be, 
or  can  be  asked  to  be,  better  than  perfect  on  its  own  scheme  and  with 
its  own  conditions.  And  on  its  own  scheme  and  with  its  own  conditions 
'  Eugenie  Grandet '  is  very  nearly  perfect." 

Saintsbury  says:  "  The  bibliography  of  the  book  is  not  complicated.  Bal- 
zac tried  the  first  chapter  (there  were  originally  seven)  in  L' Europe  Lit- 
t^raire  for  September  19,  1833;  but  he  did  not  continue  it  there,  and  it 
appeared  complete  in  the  first  volume  of  Schies  de  la  Vie  Province 
next  year.  Charpentier  republished  it  in  a  single  volume  in  1839.  The 
Comedie  engulfed  it  in   1843,  the  chapter  divisions  then   disappearing." 

It  remains  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  admired  of  all  Balzac's 
novels. 


FRANCIS  BACON,   BARON 
VERULAM 

(1561-1626) 

THE  TWOO  BOOKES  OF  FRANCIS  BA- 
CON. Of  the  proficience  and  aduancement  of  Learn- 
ing, diuine  and  humane.  To  the  King.  At  London, 
Printed  for  Henrie  Tomes,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  shop 
at  Graies  Inne  Gate  in  Holborne.    1605. 

Small  4to,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough,  by 
Riviere  &  Son.  $125.00 

The  Treatise  on  the  Advancement  of  Learning,  which  was  the  germ  of 
the  Augmentis  Scientiarum  (pub.  1633),  was  published  in  1605.  "In 
this,  indeed,  the  whole  of  the  Baconian  philosophy  may  be  said  to  be  im- 
plicitly contained,  except,  perhaps,  the  second  book  of  the  Novum  Or- 
ganum." 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Advancement  of  Learning  was  pub- 
lished two  years  after  James's  accession  to  the  English  throne.  Macaulay 
says,  in  his  essay  on  Bacon:  "James  mounted  the  throne;  and  Bacon 
employed  all  his  address  to  obtain  for  himself  a  share  of  the  favor  of  his 
new  master."  This  was  no  difficult  task.  Under  the  reign  of  James,  Bacon 
grew  rapidly  in  fortune  and  favor.  In  1604  he  was  appointed  King's 
Counsel,  with  a  fee  of  forty  pounds  a  year;  and  a  pension  of  sixty  pounds 
a  year  was  settled  upon  him.  In  1607  he  became  Solicitor-General,  in  1612 
Attorney-General. 

The  absence  of  encouragement  for  scientific  work,  and  the  isolation  of 
scientific  workers,  were  disadvantages  against  which  Bacon  had  to  con- 
tend: and  hence  in  the  Advancement  of  Learning  we  shall  find  him  advo- 
cating the  endowment  of  readers  in  sciences  and  the  provision  of  expenses 
for  experiments,  and  by  his  last  will  attempting  to  supply  this  deficiency. 
He  dislikes  the  religious  controversies  of  the  day,  among  other  reasons  be- 
cause they  divert  the  minds  of  men  from  science,  and  in  his  earnest  desire 
for  a  theological  peace,  he  compares  himself  to  the  miller  of  Huntingdon, 
who  prayed  for  peace  among  the  willows  that  his  water  might  have  the 
more  work. 

Doctor  Samuel  Collins,  late  Provost  of  King's  College  in  Cambridge, 
affirmed  that  when  he  had  read  the  book  of  the  Advancement  of  Learning, 
he  found  himself  in  a  case  to  begin  his  studies  anew,  and  that  he  had 
lost  all  the  time  of  his  studying  before. 

By  the  discoveries  of  Copernicus,  Kepler,  and  Galileo,  the  errors  of  the 
Aristotelian  philosophy  were  effectually  overturned  on  a  plain  appeal  to 
the  facts  of  nature;  but  it  remained  to  show,  on  broad  and  general  prin- 
ciples, how  and  why  Aristotle  was  in  the  wrong;  to  set  in  evidence  the 
peculiar  weakness  of  his  method  of  philosophizing,  and  to  substitute  in 
its  place  a  stronger  and  better.  This  important  task  was  executed  by 
Francis  Bacon,  Lord  Verulam,  who  will  therefore  justly  be  looked  upon 
in  all  future  ages  as  the  great  reformer  of  philosophy,  though  his  own 
actual  contributions  to  the  stock  of  physical  truths  were  small,  and  his 
ideas  of  particular  points  strongly  tinctured  with  mistakes  and  errors, 
which  were  the  fault  rather  of  the  general  want  of  physical  information 
of  the  age  than  of  any  narrowness  of  view  on  his  own  part;  and  of  this 
he  was  fully  aware. 

10 


WILLIAM  BECKFORD 

(1709-1770) 

AX  ARABIAN  TALE.  From  an  Unpublished 
^Manuscript.  With  Notes  Critical  and  Explana- 
ton^  London:  Printed  for  J.  Johnson,  in  St.  Paul's 
Church-vard,  and  Entered  at  the  Stationers'  Hall. 
MDCCLXXXVI. 

12mo,  full  polished  calf,  gilt  on  the  rough,  by  Riviere  &  Son. 

$27.50 

The  First  Edition  of  this  noted  book.  WilUam  Beckford  came  from 
a  family  of  great  wealth,  and  his  early  life  was  spent  at  Fonthill  Abbey, 
one  of' the  finest  houses  in  the  West  of  England.  It  was  here  that 
"  Vathek "  was  written.  The  only  authentic  account  directly  from  the 
author  regarding  this  splendid  and  beautiful  tale  was  made  by  him  in 
1835:  "You  will  hardly  credit  how  closely  I  was  able  to  apply  myself  when 
I  was  young.  I  wrote  '  \'athek '  when  I  twenty-two  years  old.  I  wrote  it  at 
one  sitting  and  in  French.  It  cost  me  three  days  and  two  nights  of  hard 
labour.  I  never  took  my  clothes  off  the  whole  time.  This  severe  applica- 
tion made  me  very  ill." 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  he  had  revelled  in  the  literature  of  the  East  for 
some  time,  preferring  it  to  the  classics  of  Greece  and  Rome.  "  I  began 
it  of  myself  as  a  relief  from  the  dryness  of  my  other  studies.  I  was  a 
much  better  Latin  than  Greek  scholar.  The  Latin  and  Greek  were  set 
tasks;  the  Persian  I  began  of  my  own  accord." 

"Vathek"  first  appeared  in  print  in  1784,  the  second  year  after  it  was 
written;  and  editions  were  published  both  in  Paris  and  Lausanne,  the 
latter  in  1787.  The  English  edition  had  for  title  "  An  Arabian  Tale  from 
an  Unpublished  IMS.,  with  Notes  Critical  and  Explanatory,  Lond.,  1786." 
(Allibone.) 

Although  Beckford  stated  that  he  did  not  know  who  made  the  English 
translation,  it  is  now  known  to  have  been  Dr.  Samuel  Henley.  Indeed, 
a  writer  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  accused  Henley  of  having  translated 
the  tale  from  the  Arabian  simply  to  exhibit  his  learning  by  writing 
the  voliuninous  notes.  Henley  replied  that  it  was  from  a  French  original 
then  unpublished.  It  is  therefore  supposed  that  Beckford  allowed  Dr. 
Henley  to  examine  the  manuscript,  and  that  the  latter  published  the  English 
edition  for  his  own  benefit.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  Samuel 
Henley  began  his  career  as  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  at  William  and 
Mary  College,  Williamsburg,  Va.  At  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  he 
went  to  England.  Later  he  became  a  great  antiquarian  and  the  Principal 
of  Hertford  College.  Beckford  spoke  of  the  translation  as  "  tolerably  well 
done." 

The  French  edition,  issued  as  we  have  noted  in  1787,  contained 
a  preface  explaining  that,  although  originally  written  in  French,  an  un- 
authorized English  translation  had  already  appeared.  It  is  not  easy  to 
conjecture  from  whence  Beckford  took  the  machinery  of  this  extraordinary 
story.  Some  of  the  characters  were  from  exaggerated  pictures  of  his  own 
household.  "  I  had  to  elevate,  exaggerate,  orientalize  everything.  I  was 
soaring  in  my  young  fancy  on  the  Arabian  bird  roc,  among  genii  and 
enchantments,  not  moving  "among  men."  Thus  was  this  wonderful  tale 
produced  of  which  Byron  wrote :  "  For  correctness  of  costume,  beauty  of 
description,  and  power  of  imagination,  it  far  surpasses  all  European  imi- 
tations. As  an  Eastern  tale  even  '  Rasselas '  must  bow  before  it;  his  happf 
valley  will   not  bear  a   comparison   with   the  '  Hall   of   Eblis.' " 

11 


COMEDIES 

AND 

TRAGEDIES 


(FRANCIS  BEAVMONT) 

Written  by<  And  >Gcntlemen. 

(   lOHN  FLETCHER) 


Neverprinred  before. 

And  now  publifhed  by  the  Authours 

Originall  Copies. 


Si  quid  habent  veri  Vatnm  pr£fagia,  vivam. 


LONDON, 

Printed  for  Hitmpbrej  Rx)binfen,a.t  the  three  Pid^ww/,  and  for 
Humphrey  Mofeley  at  the  Princes  ajirmes  in  S'  FohU 

Church.yard.    1647. 


12 


FRANCIS  BEAUMONT 

(1584-1616) 

AND 

JOHN  FLETCHER 

(1579-1625) 

COMEDIES  AND  TRAGEDIES.  Written  by 
Francis  Beavmont  And  lohn  Fletcher,  Gentlemen. 
Never  printed  before,  And  now  published  by  the 
Authour's  Originall  Copies.  [Quotation.]  London: 
Printed  for  Humphrey  Robinson,  at  the  three  Pidgeons, 
and  for  Humplirey  Moseley,  at  the  Princes  Ai-mes,  in 
St.  Paul's  Churchyard.     1647. 

Folio  Portrait  by  William  Marshall^  half  calf,  sprinkled  edges. 

$250.00 

The  First  Edition.  These  two  dramatists,  between  whom  "  There  was  a 
wonderful  consimility  of  phancy,"  were  inseparably  connected  in  their 
writings.  No  one  collected  edition  of  their  plays  appeared  before  their 
posthumous  one,  which  is  dedicated  to  Philip,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  by  ten 
actors,  and  is  introduced  to  the  reader  by  James  Shirley,  the  dramatist, 
who  speaks  of  the  volume  as  "  without  flattery  the  greatest  Monument  of 
the  Scene  that  Time  and  Himianity  have  produced."  This,  too,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  Shakespeare's  Works  had  appeared  twenty-four 
years  before. 

This  edition  appears  to  have  been  due  to  Moseley's  enterprise,  and  noth- 
ing which  throws  light  upon  the  history  of  printing  at  this  time  is  more 
interesting  than  the  Postscript  added  at  the  end  of  the  Commendatory 
"Verses. 

".  .  .  After  the  '  Comedies  and  Tragedies '  were  wrought  ofiP,  we  were 
forced  (for  expedition)  to  send  the  Gentlemens  Verses  to  severall  Printers, 
which  was  the  occasion  of  their  different  Character;  but  the  Worke  itselfe 
is  one  continued  Letter,  which  (though  very  legible)  is  None  of  the  big- 
gest, because  (as  much  as  possible)  we  would  lessen  the  Bulke  of  the 
Volume."  This  matter  of  size  seems  to  have  been  the  cause  of  no  little 
solicitude  and  care. 

There  are  thirty-six  plays  in  the  collection:  as  the  stationer  tells  us,  in  the 
preface  to  the  reader,  all  those  previously  printed  in  quarto  are  included, 
except  the  '  Wild  Goose  Chase,'  which  had  been  lost. 

The  following  epigram  by  Sir  Aston  Cockain,  addressed  to  the  publishers, 
shows  the  difficulties  arising  from  the  joint  authorship  were  early  sources 
of  perplexity: 

"  In   the  large  book   of  Plays  you  late  did  print 
(In  Beaumonts  and  in  Fletchers  name)  why  in't 
Did  you  not  justice?     Give  to  each  his  due? 
For  "Beaumont  (of  those  many)   writ  in  few: 
And   Massinger   in  other  few:  the   Main 
Being  sole  issues  of  sweet   Fletchers  brain. 
But  how  come  I    (you  ask)  so  much  to  know? 
Fletchers  chief  bosome-friend   inform'd  me  so. 

13 


14 


THE  HOLY  BIBLE 

THE  HOLY  BIBLE.  [Two  lines.]  Xewly  trans- 
lated out  of  the  Originall  Tongues:  and  with  the  former 
Translations  diligently  compared  and  reissued  by  his 
INIaiesties  special  Commandement.  Appointed  to  be 
read  in  Churches.  Imprinted  at  London  by  Robert 
Barker,  Printer  to  the  Kings  most  excellent  JNIaiestie. 
Aimo  Dom.  1611. 

Folio,  old  calf,  red  edges,  facsimile  title,  a  few  leaves  margined, 
and  3  leaves  supplied  with  pen  facsimiles  of  missing  letters.     $100.00 

The  editio  princeps  of  King  James's  Bible,  commonly  known  as  the 
authorized  version.  The  idea  of  this  new  translation  was  first  mooted  by 
John  Rainolds  or  Reynolds,  President  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford; 
the  Puritan  leader  at  the  Hampton  Court  Conference,  January,  1604. 
The  king  took  up  the  proposal  warmly,  and  its  achievement  was  due  to 
his  royal  interest  and  influence.  The  preliminary  work  was  accomplished 
in  about  four  years.  The  translators,  who  numbered  about  fifty,  were 
divided  into  six  companies,  each  company  being  responsible  for  a  certain 
section  of  the  Scriptures.  Two  companies  met  at  Westminster,  two  at 
Cambridge,  and  two  at  Oxford;  and  at  these  centers  the  directors  of  the 
work  were  Lancelot  Andrewes,  then  Dean  of  Westminster;  Edward  Lively, 
Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew  at  Cambridge;  and  John  Harding,  Regius 
Professor  of  Hebrew  at  Oxford.  The  results  of  their  several  labors  were 
subjected  to  mutual  criticism,  and  then  underwent  nine  months'  final 
revision  by  a  representative  committee  of  six  members,  sitting  in  London. 
The  editors  who  passed  the  book  through  the  press  were  Miles  Smith, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  and  Thomas  Bilson,  Bishop  of  Winchester. 

The  translators  were  directed  to  take  the  rendering  of  the  Bishop's  Bible 
as  their  basis,  and  were  advised  also  to  consult  the  following  versions: 
Tindale's,  Matthew's,  Coverdale's,  Whitchurch's  (i.  e.  the  Great  Bible), 
and  the  Geneva.  The  last  exerted  very  considerable  influence  on  their 
work;  and  next  to  it  the  Rheim's  New  Testament — though  not  mentioned' 
— contributed  appreciably  to  the  changes  introduced  (The  Douai  Old  Testa- 
ment aj^peared  too  late  to  be  used). 

Few  books  present  greater  difficulties  to  the  bibliograi>her  than  this,  the 
first  "  Authorized,"  or  "  King  James's  Version  of  the  Bible."  Many  copies 
bearing  the  same  date,  and  seemingly  alike,  have  distinct  differences  in 
the  text,  in  the  ornamental  head-and-tail-pieces,  and  in  the  initial  letters. 
But  the  most  striking  difference  lies  in  two  forms  of  the  title-page.  One 
of  these,  a  copper-plate  engraving,  signed  C.  Boel  fecit  in  Richmond,  rep- 
resents an  architectural  framework,  having  large  figures  of  Moses  and 
Aaron  in  niches  on  cither  side  of  the  border  and  seated  figures  of  St. 
Luke  and  St.  John,  with  their  emblems,  at  the  bottom;  al)ove  are  seated 
figures  of  St.  Matthew  and  St.  Mark,  and  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  holding 
the  Agnus  Dei,  while  l)ehind  them  are  various  saints  and  martyrs. 

The  name  of  Robert  Barker,  the  printer,  calls  for  more  than  a  passing 
notice,  since  he  it  was  who,  more  than  anyone  else  after  the  forty-seven 
translators,  was  resjjonsible  for  the  production  of  the  authorized  version. 
On  January  3,  1599,  the  court  of  assistants  of  the  Stationers'  Company 
recognized  the  letter  i)atent  of  Queen  IJizabeth,  granting  Robert  Barker 
the  reversion  for  life,  after  his  father's  death,  of  tiie  office  of  (Queen's  Printer, 
with  the  right  of  printing  Jlnglish  Bii)les,  Books  of  Conunon  Prayer, 
statutes   and   proclamations. 

15 


SIR   WILLIAM  BLACKSTONE 

(1723-1780) 

COMMENTARIES  ON  THE  LAWS  OF  ENG- 
LAND. Book  the  First.  By  William  Blackstone, 
Esq.  [Three  lines.]  Oxford.  Printed:  At  The  Clar- 
endon Press.     MDCCLXV.     [-MDCCLXIX.] 

4  vols.,  4to,  half  calf.  $35.00 

The  First  Edition.  In  1758  Blackstone  began  his  lectures  at  Oxford 
as  the  first  professor  upon  a  new  foundation.  The  subject  of  his  lectures 
was  new  to  the  English  universities,  and  the  lectures  attracted  a  very  con- 
siderable amount  of  attention.  He  had  formed  the  true  conception  of  an 
institutional  work  which  not  merely  should  state  the  principles  of  existing 
law,  but  by  means  of  the  "  learning  out  of  use "  should  explain  their 
growth.  And  so  well  did  he  carry  out  his  plan  that  in  the  "  Commentaries  " 
there  is  still  to  be  found  the  best  general  history  of  English  law,  needing 
comparatively  little  correction,  and  told  with  admirable  clearness  and 
spirit.  Though  his  style  lacks  variety  and  restraint,  but  except  amid  the 
loose  generalities  of  the  introductory  chapters,  it  is  never  obscure,  and  at 
its  best  it  rises  to  considerable  dignity. 

The  story  of  this  publication  reminds  one  of  Bacon's  "  orchard  ill- 
neighbored."  The  author  relates  the  circumstances  in  his  preface:  "  For 
the  truth  is,  that  the  present  publication  is  as  much  the  effect  of  necessity, 
as  it  is  of  choice.  The  notes  which  were  taken  by  his  hearers,  haue  by 
some  of  them  (too  partial  to  his  favour)  been  thought  worth  reuising  and 
transcribing,  and  these  transcripts  haue  been  frequently  lent  to  others. 
Hence  copies  haue  been  multiplied,  in  their  nature  imperfect,  if  not  errone- 
ous; some  of  which  haue  fallen  into  mercenary  hands,  and  become  the 
object  of  clandestine  sale.  Having,  therefore,  so  much  reason  to  appre- 
hend a  surreptitious  impression,  he  chose  rather  to  submit  his  own  errors 
to  the  world  than  to  seem  answerable  for  those  of  other  men." 

The  volumes  were  not  all  issued  at  once,  but  followed  one  another  at 
different  times  during  a  period  of  four  years.  They  were  printed  at  the 
Clarendon  Press,  which  Blackstone,  when  appointed  a  delegate  in  1755,  had 
"  found  languishing  in  a  lazy  obscurity,"  and  whose  quickening  was  in  no 
small  measure  due  to  his  "  repeated  conferences  with  the  most  eminent 
masters,  in  London  and  other  places,  with  regard  to  the  mechanical  part 
of  printing,"  his  recommendations,  and  to  his  own  examples  of  good  typog- 
raphy supplied  in  the  Magna  Charta,  published  in  1758,  and  in  this  his 
magnum  opus. 

The  wonderful  success  of  the  work  is  attested  by  the  number  of  its  edi- 
tions. A  second  was  issued  in  1768,  and  six  more  appeared  before  the 
author's  death.  From  then,  until  now,  it  has  been  frequently  reprinted. 
Blackstone  is  reputed  to  have  received  from  the  sale  of  the  "  Commentaries," 
and  from  his  lectures,  about  £14,000. 

It  has  been  said  of  Blackstone  that  "  he  was  the  first  to  make  English 
law  readable."  He  was  also  referred  to  "  as  at  once  the  most  available 
and  the  most  trustworthy  authority  on  the  law  of  the  18th  Century." 
On  the  Continent  it  is  still  quoted,  but  its  greatest  success  has  been  in 
America,  where  it  has  been  regarded  as  the  book  on  English  law. 

In  Croker's  Boswell  we  find  a  vignette  of  Blackstone:  "  He  was  both 
languid  and  hot-tempered.  So  languid  was  he  that  in  writing  the  '  Com- 
mentaries '  he  had  to  have  a  bottle  of  port  near  by  to  be  invigorated  and 
supported  in  the  fatigue  of  his  great  work  by  a  temperate  use  of  it." 

16 


GEORGE  BORROW 

(1803-1881) 

THE  BIBLE  IX  SPAIN,  OR  THE  JOUR- 
NEYS, ADVENTURES,  AND  IMPRISON- 
MENTS OF  AN  ENGLISHMAN.  An  Attempt 
to  Circulate  the  Scriptures  in  the  Peninsula.  By  George 
Borrow,  Author  of  ""  The  Gypsies  in  Spain."  In  three 
volumes.  Vol.  I.  London:  Jolin  JNIurray,  Albemarle 
Street.     1843. 

3  vols.,  l^mo,  original  cloth,  uncut.  $35,00 

The  First  Edition,  "  The  Bible  in  Spain "  was  simply  transcribed  from 
Borrow's  voluminous  letters  to  the  Bible  Society  in  England,  commencing 
with  the  first  he  sent  in  November,  1835,  and  ending  abruptly  with  his 
letter  of  May,  1839. 

The  letters  were  written  with  considerable  literary  style,  and  entered 
into  the  most  minute  details  of  his  wanderings  and  of  his  intercourse  with 
the  people  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1841  he  managed  to  secure  his  original  letters 
from  the  Bible  Society.  This  was  only  done  after  considerable  eflfort  and 
persuasion.  Mrs.  Borrow  took  upon  herself  the  task  of  copying  out  the 
letters,  and  they  were  then  turned  into  a  continuous  narrative,  and  an 
episode  or  story  added  here  and  there. 

In  January,  1842,  the  manuscript  was  in  the  hands  of  John  Murray. 
It  was  published  on  December  10th  of  that  year,  although  the  date  on 
the  title-page  is  1843.  The  first  edition  consisted  of  one  thousand  copies. 
Its  success  was  immediate.  There  were  six  editions  in  England  in  the  first 
seven  months,  and  eight  editions  in  four  months  in  America.  The  Athe- 
noeiim  said  of  it:  "There  is  no  taking  leave  of  a  book  like  this — a  genuine 
book,  and  not  one  of  those  starved  pieces  of  modern  manufacture,  in  which 
the  smallest  possible  quantity  of  thought  and  incident  is  spread  over  the 
largest  possible  surface." 

"  If  any  of  our  readers  should  happen  not  to  have  read  '  The  Bible  in 
Spain,'  we  advise  them  to  read  it  forthwith.  Though  irregular,  without 
plan  or  order,  it  is  a  thoroughly  racy,  graphic,  and  vigorous  book,  full 
of  interest,  honest  and  straightforward,  and  without  any  cant  or  affectation 
in  it;  indeed  the  man's  prominent  quality  is  honesty,  otherwise  we  should 
never  have  seen  anything  in  that  strong  love  of  pugilism,  horsemanship, 
Gypsy  life,  and  physical  daring  of  all  kinds,  of  which  his  books  are  full. 
He  is  a  Bible  Harry  Lorrequer,  a  missionary  Bamfylde  Moore  Carew, 
an  Exeter  Hall  bruiser,  a  polyglot  wandering  gypsy.  Fancy  these  incon- 
gruities, and  yet  George  Borrow  is  the  man  who  embodies  them  in  his  one 
extraordinary  person !  " — Samuel  Smiles,  Brief  Biopraphies. 

Daniel  Macmillan,  the  founder  of  the  well-known  firm  of  publishers, 
wrote  to  a  friend :  "  Have  you  seen  or  heard  anything  of  a  strange  man 
named  Borrow,  who  has  written  a  book  called  the  '  Gypsies  in  Spain,'  and 
the  '  Bible  in  Spain  '  ?  They  are  most  interesting  books,  and  he  is  a  most 
strange  man.  .  .  .  Some  of  his  statements  about  the  priests  have  given 
great  offence  to  the  Dublin  Review  people,  and  they  have  made  a  fierce 
attack  on  poor  Mr.  Borrow,  but  he  is  a  bold  man,  and  can  stand  his  own 
ground." 

17 


JANE    EYRE. 


^n  ^utobCograpt^. 


EDITED   BY 

CURRER    BELL. 


IN    THREE    VOLUMES. 
VOL.   I. 


LONDON: 

SMITH,  ELDER,  AND  CO.,  CORNHILL. 

1847. 


18 


CHARLOTTE   BRONTE 

(1816-1855) 

JANE  EYRE.  An  Autobiography.  Edited  by 
Currer  Bell.  In  Three  Volumes.  Vol.  I.  London: 
Smith,  Elder  &  Co.,  Cornhill.    1847. 

3  vols.,  original  cloth,  uncut,  in  a  pull-off  case.  $150.00 

The  First  Edition.  Fortunately  there  is  a  very  full  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  "  Jane  Eyre "  came  into  existence  and  the  amusing  way 
in  which  it  was  brought  before  the  public.  The  story  is  that  Charlotte 
Bronte  reproved  her  sisters  for  always  creating  beautiful  heroines.  "  I 
will  prove  to  you  that  you  are  wrong;  I  wUl  show  you  a  heroine  as  plain 
and  as  small  as  myself,  who  shall  be  as  interesting  as  any  of  yours." 
Thus  the  start  of  the  story.  For  three  weeks  she  wrote  almost  incessantly, 
only  stopping  when  fearful  of  illness.  This  was  in  1846.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  at  this  time,  or  rather  in  1847,  two  novels  by  the  Brontes 
had  been  accepted  and  were  in  press,  and  "  The  Professor "  was  going 
the  rounds.  On  August  24th  the  following  letter  was  sent  to  Smith,  Elder 
&  Co.: 

"  I  now  send  per  rail  a  MS.  entitled  '  Jane  Eyre,'  a  novel  in  three 
volumes  by  Currer  Bell.  I  find  I  cannot  prepay  the  carriage  of  the  parcel, 
as  money  for  that  purpose  is  not  received  at  the  small  station-house  where 
it  is  left.  If,  when  you  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  MS.,  you  would 
have  the  goodness  to  mention  the  amount  charged  on  delivery  I  will  im- 
mediately transmit  it  in  postage  stamps.  It  is  better  in  future  to  address 
Mr.  Currer  Bell,  under  cover  to  Miss  Bronte,  Haworth,  Bradford,  York- 
shire, as  there  is  a  risk  of  letters  otherwise  directed  not  reaching  me  at 
present.     To  save  trouble,  I  enclose  an  envelope." 

"  Jane  Eyre  "  was  accepted,  and  printed  and  published  by  October  16th, 
a  remarkable  feat. 

"  To  Smith,  Elder  &  Co. 

"  October  19,  1847. 
"Gentlemen: — The  six  copies  of  'Jane   Eyre'  reached  me  this  morning. 
You  have  given  the  work  every  advantage  which  good  paper,  clear  type, 
and   a  seemly   outside  can   supply;   if  it  fails  the   fault  will  lie   with  the 
author — you  are  exempt. 

"I  now  await  the  judgment  of  the  press  and  the  public. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  yours  respectfully, 

"C.   Bell." 

The  press  did  not  do  much  toward  promoting  the  sale.  The  author 
was  unknown,  and  very  little  space  was  given  to  the  book.  By  December 
people  were  reading  it  and  talking  about  it,  which  is  the  best  of  adver- 
tisements. It  was  only  when  success  seemed  sure  that  Mr.  Bronte  was 
taken  into  the  secret. 

By  this  time  the  entire  reading  world  was  trying  to  find  out  who 
"  Currer  Bell  "  was.  The  second  edition  appeared  in  January,  1848,  with 
the  dedication  to  Thackeray,  who  had  written  a  letter  of  praise  to  the  pub- 
lishers. The  American  sales  were  very  large,  and  it  was  really  due  to  the 
fact  that  rival  publishers  were  seeking  further  books  from  the  author  of 
"Jane  Eyre"  that  Charlotte  Bronte  was  obliged  to  disclose  her  identity  to 
her  publishers. 

19 


JAMES  BOSWELL 

(1740-1795) 

THE  LIFE  OF  SAJVIUEL  JOHNSON,  LL.D. 

[Twelve  lines.]  In  Two  Volumes.  By  James  Boswell, 
Esq.  [Quotation.]  Volume  the  First.  London: 
Printed  bv  Henry  Baldwin,  for  Charles  Dilly,  in  the 
Poultry.    MDCCXCI. 

2  vols.^  full  sprinkled  calf,  uncut.  $35.00 

The  First  Edition.  Bosweil  had  published,  in  1790,  two  speci- 
mens of  his  work:  "  The  Celebrated  Letter  from  Samuel  Johnson,  LL.D.,  to 
Philip  Dormer  Stanhope,  Earl  of  Chesterfield,  now  first  published,  with 
notes  by  James  Boswell,  Esq.,"  and  "  A  Conversation  Between  His  Most 
Sacred  Majesty  George  III,  and  Samuel  Johnson,  LL.D.,  illustrated  with 
observations  by  James  Boswell,  Esq."  They  were  probably  issued  to  secure 
the  copyright,  and  sold  for  half  a  guinea  apiece. 

The  whole  matter  of  jjublication  of  the  Life  was  a  source  of  no  small 
worry  to  the  author.  He  was  plunged,  at  that  time,  in  pecuniary  difficulties 
due  to  the  purchase  of  an  estate  for  £2,500,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  might 
be  obliged  to  accept  the  offer  of  Robinson,  the  publisher,  of  £1,000  for  the 
copyright  of  his  beloved  book.  "  But  it  would  go  to  his  heart,"  he  said, 
"  to  accept  such  a  sum,  which  he  considered  far  too  low,"  and  he  avoided 
the  difficulty  by  borrowing  the  money.  All  of  these  things  made  him  very 
low  spirited. 

"  I  am  at  present,"  he  says,  "  in  such  bad  spirits  that  I  have  fear  con- 
cerning it — that  I  maj^  get  no  profit,  nay,  may  lose — that  the  public  may 
be  disappointed,  and  think  that  I  have  done  it  poorly — that  I  may  make 
many  enemies,  and  even  have  quarrels.  But  perhaps  the  very  reverse 
of  all  may  happen." 

He  worked  very  hard  over  all  the  details  connected  with  the  making  of 
the  book.  "  I  am*  within  a  short  walk  of  Mr.  Malone  who  revises  my  'Life 
of  Johnson '  with  me.  We  have  not  yet  gone  over  quite  a  half  of  it,  but 
it  is  at  last  fairly  in  the  press.  I  intended  to  have  printed  it  upon  what  is 
called  an  English  letter,  which  would  have  made  it  look  better.  I  have 
therefore  taken  a  smaller  type,  called  pica,  and  even  upon  that  I  am  afraid 
its  bulk  will  be  very  large."  He  gave  much  thought  to  the  title  page 
and  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  could  be  perfectly  satisfied  with  it. 

The  work  was  at  last  delivered  to  the  world  May  16th  (the  "  Advertise- 
ment"  is  dated  April  20th),  and  was  sold  for  two  guineas  a  copy.  So  suc- 
cessful was  it  that  by  August  22d,  1,200  out  of  the  edition  of  1,700  copies 
were  disposed  of,  and  the  whole  edition  was  exhausted  before  the  end  of 
the  year.  A  supplement  was  issued  in  1793,  at  one  guinea;  and  a  second 
edition  with  eight  additional  sheets  appeared  in  July  of  the  same  year. 

Lord  Rosebery  said  in  a  recent  address  on  Dr.  Johnson:  "  I  come  to  this 
conclusion,  speaking  always  for  myself  alone,  that  Johnson's  literary  fame 
substantially  survives  in  two  supreme  poems,  the  '  Lives  of  the  Poets '  and 
the  '  Dictionary,'  but  if  these  stood  alone,  remarkable  as  they  are,  we 
should  not  be  assembled  here  to-day.  I  pass  then  to  the  most  solid  base, 
Boswell,  and  the  figure  which  remains  eternally  resting  on  Boswell.  .  .  . 
The  book  remains  and  is  likely  to  remain  unique  because  of  the  peculiar 
genius  of  the  biographer.  .  .  .  From  first  to  last  the  book  is  all  good,  there 
is  not  a  dull  page  in  it." 

The  portrait  of  Dr.  Johnson  which  forms  the  frontispiece  to  Vol.  I  is  by 
Health,  after  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 

20 


SIR  THOMAS  BROWNE 

(1605-1682) 

RELIGIO  MEDICI.   Printed  for  Andrew  Crooke. 
1642.     Will:  Marshall,  sen. 

ISmo,  old  calf  with  engraved  title,  by  William  Marshall,     $125.00 

The  First  Edition.  One  head-line  cut  into,  and  a  little  writing  on 
title.  This  is  thought  to  be  the  earlier  of  two  anonymous  editions  pub- 
lished in  the  same  year,  and  without  the  author's  sanction,  as  we  learn 
from  the  third  edition  published  in  the  following  year,  entitled  "  A 
true  and  full  coppy  of  that  which  was  most  imperfectly  and  surrepti- 
tiously printed  before  under  the  name  of:  '  Religio  Medici.'  In  the  pref- 
ace Browne  says  over  his  signature:  '.  .  .  I  have  at  present  represented 
into  the  world  a  full  and  intended  copy  of  that  Peece  which  was  most  im- 
perfectly and  surreptitiously  published  before.'  He  repeats  the  complaint 
of  surreptitious  publication  in  a  letter  to  Sir  Kenelm  Digby,  in  which  he 
begs  the  latter  to  delay  the  publication  of  his  '  Animadversions  Upon  the 
Religio  Medici '  which  '  the  liberty  of  these  times  committed  to  the  press.' " 

The  famous  "  Religio  Medici "  was  probably  written  in  1635  during 
Browne's  residence  at  Shippen  Hall.  The  author's  manuscript  was  passed 
among  his  private  friends,  by  whom  frequent  transcripts  were  made  with 
more  or  less  inaccuracy,  and  the  original  work  had  been  so  corrupted 
that  the  unauthorized  editions  "  arrived  in  a  most  depraved  copy  from 
the  press." 

The  curious  coincidence  that  all  three  editions,  spurious  and  authorized, 
were  issued  by  the  same  publisher,  who  used  the  engraved  title-page  by 
William  Marshall  for  each,  only  changing  the  imprint,  gave  rise  to  the 
hypothesis  that,  if  Sir  Thomas  did  not  authorize,  he  did  not  prevent  the 
publications  of  the  early  editions.  In  fact.  Dr.  Johnson  (though  he 
professes  to  acquit  him),  favored  the  view  "that  Browne  procured  the 
anonymous  publication  of  the  treatise  in  order  to  try  its  success  with 
the  public  before  openly  acknowledging  the  authorship." 

The  effect  of  the  work  certainly  justified  any  fears  the  author  may  have 
had.  It  excited  much  controversy  and  was  placed  in  the  "  Index  Expur- 
gatorius  of  the  Roman  Church."  But  from  the  publisher's  point  of  view, 
it  was  a  great  success. 

The  emblematic  fancy  of  Marshall  has  represented  on  the  engraved 
title-page  of  this  volume,  a  hand  from  the  clouds  catching  a  man  to 
hinder  his  falling  from  a  rock  into  the  sea.  The  picture  bears  the  legend 
"  a  coelo  salus,"  which  was  afterward  erased,  not,  we  will  hope,  because  of 
lack  of  faith  in  the  sentiment  expressed.  The  title  was  also  erased  from 
later  editions. 

The  book  was  made  widely  known  among  Continental  scholars  by  John 
Merrj'weather's  version.  This  was  the  Latin  translation  in  1644  from 
the  1643  edition.  From  an  interesting  letter  (dated  October  1,  1649)  of 
Merryweather  to  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  it  appears  that  there  was  consider- 
able "difficulty  in  finding  a  publisher  for  the  translation.  In  the  first 
instance  Merryweather  offered  it  to  a  Leyden  bookseller  named  Have, 
who  submitted  it  to  Salmasius  for  approbation.  Salmasius  kept  it  for 
three  months,  and  returned  it  with  the  remark  that  "  there  were  indeed  in 
it  many  things  well  said,  but  that  it  contained  many  exorbitant  con- 
ceptions in  religion,  and  would  probably  find  but  frowning  entertainment 
especially  among  the  ministers,"  so  Haye  refused  to  undertake  the  pub- 
lication." P'inally  after  it  had  been  offered  in  two  other  quarters  it  was 
accepted  bv  Hackius. 

21 


THE 

LIFEand  DEATH 

O  F 

Mr,  BADMAN, 

PRESENTED 

To  the  W  o  R  L  D  ill  a 

FAMILIAR 


Mr.  WISEMAN, 
Between<(  And 

Mr.JTTENTIFE. 


By  JOHN    B  V  N  r  J  N, 
the  Author  of  the  Pilgrims  Frogrefs. 

j  LONDON^ 

!  Printed  by  J.  A.  for  Nath,  fonder  at 
\      the  Veacockjw  the  Touhrey^  neer 
I  the  Church,  1680. 


22 


JOHN  BUNYAN 

(1628-1688) 

THE   LIFE   AND   DEATH   OF   MR.   BAD- 

JNIAN,  Presented  to  the  World  in  a  Familiar  Dialogue 
Between  Mr.  Wiseman  and  Mr.  Attentive.  By  John 
Bmiyan,  the  Author  of  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress."  Lon- 
don: Printed  by  J.  A.,  for  Nath.  Ponder,  at  the  Pea- 
cock in  the  Poultrey,  near  the  Church.     1680. 

18mo,  original  calf,  enclosed  in  a  morocco  slip  case.  $250.00 

The  First  Edition,  excessively  scarce.  No  copy  of  the  first  edition  is 
recorded  in  "  Book  Prices  Current."  Bunyan's  "  Mr.  Badman,"  one  of  his 
most  characteristic  works,  was  published  in  1680,  and  served  as  a  foil  to 
the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress."  It  was  published  by  Nathaniel  Ponder,  Bimyan's 
publisher  for  a  period  of  some  ten  years,  who  was  spoken  of  as  an  agree- 
able man  with  whom  to  have  business  dealings. 

Bunyan  began  work  on  "  Mr.  Badman  "  as  soon  as  he  had  published  the 
third  edition  of  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  he  considered  it  a  complement 
or  continuation  of  the  latter:  "As  I  was  considering  with  myself  what 
I  had  written  concerning  the  Progress  of  the  Pilgrim  from  this  world 
to  glory:  and  how  it  had  been  acceptable  to  many  in  this  nation:  it  came 
again  into  my  mind  to  write,  as  then  of  him  that  was  going  to  Heaven, 
so  now  of  the  Life  and  Death  of  the  Ungodly  and  of  their  travel  from 
this  world  to  Hell." 

Froude  has  given  us  an  admirable  sketch  of  the  story:  "It  is  extremely 
interesting  merely  as  a  picture  of  vulgar  English  life  in  a  provincial 
town,  such  as  Bedford  was  when  Bunyan  lived  there.  .  .  .  Bunyan 
conceals  nothing,  assumes  nothing,  and  exaggerates  nothing  ...  a  picture 
of  a  man  in  the  ranks  of  English  life  with  which  Bunyan  was  most  familiar, 
travelling  along  the  primrose  path  to  the  everlasting  bonfire." 

Canon  Venables  said  of  it:  "One  of  Bimyan's  most  characteristic  works 
.  .  .  which,  though  now  almost  forgotten,  and  too  disagreeable  in  its  subject 
and  its  boldly  drawn  details  to  be  altogether  wholesome  reading,  displays 
Bunyan's  inventive  genius  as  powerfully  as  the  universally  popular  '  Pil- 
grim' of  which,  as  Bimyan  intended  it  to  be,  it  is  the  strongly  drawn  con- 
trast and  foil.  ...  As  a  portrait  of  rough  English  country-town  life  in 
the  days  of  Charles  II,  the  later  book  is  unapproached,  save  by  the  un- 
savoury tales  of  Defoe." 

The  "  Life  and  Death  of  Mr.  Badman"  was  followed  two  years  later 
by  the  "  Holy  War,"  and  later  his  lesser  known  works,  "  The  Pharisee  and 
the  Publican,"  the  Second  Part  of  "  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  others. 
Bunyan's  literary  activity  did  not  interfere  with  his  ])reaching;  and  al- 
though "  troublous  times "  fell  upon  the  nonconformists  in  1675,  Bunyan 
disguised  himself  as  a  waggoner,  and,  with  whip  in  hand,  continued  his 
journeys.  Great  crowds  went  to  hear  him  in  London,  and  it  is  said  that 
as  many  as  twelve  hundred  would  gather  on  a  weekday  morning  in  win- 
ter to  listen.  He  is  described  as  "  Strong-boned,  of  a  ruddy  face,  his 
hair  reddish,  hut  in  his  latter  days  well  sj^rinkled  with  gray,  of  a  stern 
and  rough  temjier,  not  given  to  loquacity,  and  never  to  boast  of  himself  in 
his  parts."  This  was  the  appearance  of  the  man  who  has  created  the  char- 
acters of  "  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman,"  the  "  Giant  Despair,"  the  "  Young 
Woman  Whose  Name  Was  Dull,"  and  others  whose  vitality  will  never 
decay. 

28 


ROBERT  BROWNING 

(1812-1889) 

BELLS   AND   POMEGRANATES.     No.    1— 

Pippa  Passes.  By  Robert  Browning.  Author  of 
"  Paracelsus."  London:  Edward  Moxon,  Dover  Street. 
MDCCCXLI. 

8vo,  full  dark  blue  crushed  levant  morocco  with  special  tooling, 
gilt  top,  uncut,  by  Sangorski  &  Sutcliffe.  $175.00 

The  First  Edition,  bound  from  the  eight  original  parts.  In  1841  Robert 
Browning's  publisher — Edward  Moxon — proposed  that  some  of  his  poems 
then  in  manuscript  should  be  brought  out  in  a  cheap  form.  It  was  sug- 
gested that  they  might  appear  in  monthly  pamphlets,  and  the  series  could 
be  continued  or  ended  according  to  the  manner  in  which  the  public  received 
them.  The  general  title  "  Bells  and  Pomegranates "  was  chosen  for  the 
series.  Pippa  Passes,  which  introduces  the  series,  was  the  result  of  the  sud- 
den image  of  a  figure  walking  alone  through  life,  which  came  to  Browning 
in  a  wood  near  Dulwich. 

No.  III.  "  Dramatic  Lyrics "  contained  the  poem  of  the  "  Pied  Piper 
of  Hamelin,"  which  was  written  in  May,  1842,  to  amuse  W.  C.  Macready's 
little  son  William.  The  play,  "  A  Blot  on  the  'Scutcheon  "  was  written  at 
the  desire  of  Macready,  and  was  first  performed  at  Drury  Lane  on  Feb. 
11,  1843,  though  Macready  did  not  act  in  it,  and  treated  it  rather  shabbily. 
Browning  gave  the  leading  part  to  Phelps  and  the  heroine  was  played  by 
Helen  Faucit.  It  was  well  received,  but  not  well  acted  and  had  but  a 
short  run.  The  coolness  between  Macready  and  Browning  lasted  until 
1862.  "  Colombe's  Birthday  "  was  read  to  the  Keans  in  March,  1844,  but 
was  not  acted  until  1853,  when  Helen  Faucit  and  Barry  Sullivan  produced 
it  at  the  Haymarket.  It  was  performed  at  the  Harvard  Athenaeum  about 
the  same  time. 

Miss  Barrett  wrote  to  a  friend:  "Did  you  persevere  with  '  Bordello  ?'  I 
hope  so.  Be  sure  that  we  may  all  learn  (as  poets)  much  and  deeply 
from  it,  for  the  writer  speaks  true  oracles.  When  you  have  read  it  through, 
then  read  for  relaxation  and  recompense  the  last  '  Bell  and  Pomegranate  * 
by  the  same  poet,  his  '  Colombe's  Birthday,'  which  is  exquisite.  Only  '  Pippa 
Passes '   I   lean  to,  or  kneel  to,  with  the  deepest  reverence." 

She  wrote  to  Browning  advising  that  he  give  an  explanation  of  the  title, 
to  which  he  answered:  "I  will  make  a  note  as  you  suggest  or,  perhaps, 
keep  it  for  the  closing  number  (the  next),  when  it  will  come  fitly  in  with 
two  or  three  parting  words  I  shall  have  to  say.  The  Rabbis  make  Bells 
and  Pomegranates  symbolical  of  Pleasure  and  Profit,  the  gay  and  the 
grave,  the  Poetry  and  the  Prose,  Singing  and  Sermonizing — such  a  mixture 
of  effects  as  in  the  original  hour  (that  is  quarter  of  an  hour)  of  confidence 
and  creation,  I  meant  the  whole  should  prove  at  last." 

In  the  final  number  Browning  explained  that  he  meant  to  indicate  by  this 
title  "  something  like  an  alternation,  or  mixture  of  music  with  discoursing, 
sound  with  sense,  poetry  with  thought."  From  1841  to  1846  the  numbers  of 
"  Bells  and  Pomegranates "  appeared.  The  first  one,  containing  "  Pippa 
Passes,"  sold  for  sixpence,  but  the  price  was  then  raised  to  a  shilling. 
These  slight  numbers  contain  some  of  Browning's  finest  poems.  They  were 
issued  by  Moxon  in  a  large  octavo,  with  yellowish-green  covers. 

This  series  is  the  last  of  Browning's  works  in  order  of  date  that  is  excep- 
tionally difficult  to  procure.  All  of  his  works  issued  subsequent  to  1846 
are  less  rare,  because  his  fame  by  that  time  being  well  assured,  larger  edi- 
tions of  each  of  his  works  were  published. 

24 


EDMUND  BURKE 

(1729-1797) 

REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  REVOLUTION 
IN  FRANCE,  [four  lines]  IN  A  LETTER  IN- 
TENDED TO  HAVE  BEEN  SENT  TO  A  GEN- 
TLEMAN IN  PARIS.  By  The  Right  Honorable 
Edmund  Burke.  London:  Printed  for  J.  Dodsley,  in 
Pall  Mall.    MDCCXC. 

8vo,  original  paper  wrappers,  uncut.  $15.00 

The  First  Edition.  Burke  was  drawn  into  writing  the  "  Reflections  "  by 
what  seems  ahnost  an  accident.  The  4th  of  November  was  the  anni- 
versary of  the  landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  the  first  act  in  the 
Revolution  of  1688.  There  was,  in  London,  an  association  which  was  known 
as  the  Revolution  Society.  It  was  mostly  composed  of  Dissenters,  but  had 
among  its  members  some  churchmen  and  a  good  many  members  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  This  society  met  to  hear  a  sermon  especially  pre- 
pared for  this  anniversary.  The  speaker  was  Dr.  Price,  who  held  up  the 
French  for  admiration  and  praise  as  having  carried  the  principles  of  the 
English  Revolution  to  a  loftier  height,  and  as  having  broadened  the  view 
of  all  mankind. 

Burke's  anger  was  so  aroused  by  this  that  he  went  to  work  at  once  to 
denounce  Dr.  Price  and  his  doctrines  in  a  letter  expressing  his  opinion 
of  the  Revolutionary  movement  in  France.  Thus  were  the  "  Reflections " 
originated.  He  was  excited  to  a  tremendous  degree,  and  Each  report  from 
Paris  only  served  to  urge  him  on. 

It  very  soon  got  rimioured  about  that  Burke  was  hard  at  work  on  a 
pamphlet,  and  the  public  interest  was  thoroughly  aroused.  Burke's  own 
name,  coupled  with  the  subject  of  the  Revolution,  was  sufficient  to  whet 
people's  appetites  for  his  book.  However,  he  was  not  to  be  unduly  hur- 
ried. He  kept  at  work  for  an  entire  year,  and  was  never  content  with 
what  he  had  written.  His  changes  on  the  proofs  were  so  numerous  and  so 
drastic  that  the  printer  set  up  the  entire  work  in  fresh  type.  The  book 
bound  in  an  unlettered  wrapper  of  gray  paper  was  finally  issued  during 
November,  1790,  and  was  sold  at  five  shillings.  The  King  [George  HI] 
called  it  "  a  good  book,  a  very  good  book ;  every  gentleman  ought  to  read 
it." 

It  passed  through  eleven  editions  or  eighteen  thousand  copies,  during 
the  first  year  after  publication,  and  a  large  sale  continued  for  four  or  five 
years. 

The  effect  of  the  book  was  instantaneous  and  remarkable.  All  England 
was  divided  into  two  factions,  and  the  interest  spread  to  the  Continent, 
and  it  is  said  that  Louis  XVI   himself  translated  it  into   French. 

.  In  a  famous  passage  Burke  gives  a  glowing  description  of  the  young 
Queen  Marie  Antoinette,  who  he  had  seen  first  about  1772  when  he  had 
placed  his  son  Richard  at  school  at  Auxerre. 

Horace  Walpole  said,  in  1790:  "  Every  page  shows  how  sincerely  he 
is  in  earnest— a  wondrous  merit  in  a  political  pamphlet.  All  other  ])arty 
writers  net  zeal  for  the  public,  but  it  never  seems  to  flow  from  the  heart. 
That  cordial,  like  a  vial  of  spirits,  will  preserve  his  book  when  some- 
of  his  doctrines  would  have  evajjorated  in  fume." 

25 


ROBERT  BURNS 

(1759-1796) 

POEMS  CHIEFLY  IN  THE  SCOTTISH  DI- 
ALECT. By  Robert  Burns.  The  Third  Edition. 
London:  Printed  for  A.  Strahan;  T.  Cadell  in  the 
Strand;  And  W.  Creech,  Edinburgh.  MDCCL- 
XXXVII. 

8vo,  original  sheep  in  a  Solander  case,  portrait.  $2,500.00 

A  copy  with  manuscript  corrections  by  Burns.  The  Third  Edition. 
London,  1787,  is  identical  with  the  first  Edinburgh  edition,  of  which  only 
three  thousand  copies  were  printed.  In  the  poem  "  To  a  Haggis "  the 
word  "  skinking "  stanza  3,  line  3,  was  corrected  to  "  stinking."  This 
copy  contains  the  book-plate  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Quarles,  A.M.,  and  also 
the  following  corrections  and  emendations,  which  are  entirely  in  Burns's 
handwriting:  p.  47,  Mauchline;  p.  49,  Kilmarnock;  p.  50,  Moodie  (twice); 
p.  51,  Smith;  p.  52,  Peebles-Miller;  p.  54,  Russell;  p.  70,  Ballantine;  p.  71, 
Ballantine;  p.  88,  Kilmarnock-Begbies ;  p.  89,  Oliphant-Russell-McKindlay ; 
p.  91,  Kilmarnock;  p.  92,  Glencairn-Robinson ;  p.  93,  Ayr-Netherton- 
Mutrie;  p.  95,  McKindlay-Russell;  p.  96,  James  Steven;  p.  112,  Jas. 
Smith-Smith;  p.  152,  Kilmarnock-Robinson ;  p.  153,  Kilmarnock;  p.  156, 
additional  stanza  to  the  poem  entitled  "  Tam  Samson's  Elegy,"  as  follows: 

Here  low  he  lies  in  lasting  rest. 

Perhaps  upon  his  mould'ring  breast 

Some  spitefu'  moorfowl   bigs   her  nest. 
To   hatch   and   breed: 

Alas,  nae  mair  he'll  them  molest, 
Tam    Samson's    dead. 

p.  184,  Robt.  Aiken;  p.  185,  Aiken;  p.  255,  Logan;  p.  268,  Gavin  Hamil- 
ton; p.  273,  Kennedys-Hamilton;  p.  282,  John  Lapraike;  p.  295,  Wm. 
Simpson;  p.  305,  John  Rankine-Rankine;  p.  343,  Hood;  p.  345,  Robt. 
Aiken-Gavin  Hamilton.  These  names  supplied  in  ink  by  Burns  were 
omitted  from  the  published  edition,  owing  to  the  personal  nature  of  the 
poems. 

To  the  first  Edinburgh  edition  was  added  twenty-two  poems  not  pub- 
lished in  the  Kilmarnock  edition.  This  volume  was  either  Burns's  own 
copy,  or  he  had  sent  it  to  a  friend  for  whom  he  had  written  the  full 
names  of  all  the  persons  and  places  marked  with  asterisks.  The  additional 
stanza  to  the  poem  "  Tam  Samson's  Elegy  "  was  not  incorporated  in  any 
edition  until  many  years  after  Burns's  death.  Tam  Samson  was  a  nursery 
gardener  and  seedsman  in  Kilmarnock  and  an  ardent  sportsman.  He  died 
the  12th  of  December,  1795,  in  his  seventy- third  year.  The  epitaph  is 
engraved  on  his  tombstone  in  the  yard  of  the  Laigh  Kirk. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  first  edition  of  Burns's  "  poems "  was 
published  in  Kilmarnock,  1786,  by  John  Wilson.  Gavin  Hamilton,  one 
of  Burns's  warmest  friends  suggested  this  publication  in  order  that  the 
poet  might  get  money  enough  to  emigrate  to  Jamaica.  It  is  stated  that 
612  copies  were  printed,  350  being  subscribed  for  in  advance.  On  August 
28th  of  the  same  year,  all  but  thirteen  copies  had  been  sold.  In  October 
a  new  edition  of  1,000  copies  was  suggested  to  the  printer,  but  he  refused 
to  proceed  unless  the  poet  advanced  £27.  As  Burns  did  not  die  until 
1796,  the  income  from  the  sale  of  the  first  Edinburgh  and  the  first  London 
editions  must  have  been  considerable,  although  the  actual  facts  are  want- 
ing as  to  the  sum  realized. 

26 


JOSEPH  BUTLER 

BISHOP    OF    DURHAM 

(1692-1752) 

THE  ANALOGY  OF  RELIGION,  NATURAL 
AND  REVEALED.  [Six  lines.]  By  Joseph  Butler, 
LL.D.,  Rector  of  Stanhope,  in  the  Bishoprick  of  Dur- 
ham. [Quotation.]  London:  Printed  for  James,  John 
and  Paul  Knapton,  at  the  Crown  in  Luds-ate  Street, 
MDCCXXXVI. 

4to,  full  panelled  calf,  sprinkled  edges.  $20.00 

The  First  Edition.  It  was  during  the  year  1736,  soon  after  the  ap- 
pointment of  Butler  in  the  household  of  the  Queen  that  the  "  Analogy " 
was  published.  It  came  out  in  May,  and  a  second  edition  followed  in 
the  same  year,  printed  by  the  Knaptons,  publishers  of  Butler's  first  printed 
volume,  "  Fifteen  Sermons,"  1726. 

It  ran  into  edition  after  edition,  and  is  reprinted  even  now.  "  Few 
productions  of  the  human  mind,"  AUibone  tells  us,  "  have  elicited  the 
labours  of  so  many  learned  commentators  as  have  employed  their  talents 
in  the  exposition  of  Butler's  Analogy."  He  gives  seventeen  editions  with 
commentaries,  printed  before  1858.  In  recent  times  no  less  a  name  than 
that  of  Gladstone  may  be  counted  among  the  number. 

The  Quarterly  Revieir  gave  it  a  long  and  careful  analysis:  "A  work 
too  thoughtful  for  the  flippant  taste  of  the  sceptical  school,  and,  indeed, 
only  to  be  appreciated  after  much  and  patient  meditation.  It  is  not  a 
short  line  that  will  fathom  Butler.  .  .  .  We  have  heard  persons  talk  of 
the  obscurity  of  Bishop  Butler's  style  and  lament  that  his  book  was  not 
rewritten  by  some  more  luminous  master  of  language.  AVe  have  always  sus- 
pected that  such  critics  knew  very  little  about  the  '  Analogy.'  .  .  .  Never  was 
there  a  stronger  instance  of  the  truth  of  the  observation,  that  it  requires 
far  more  time  to  make  a  small  book  than  a  large  one.  .  .  .  We  look  upon 
the  '  Analogj' '  of  Bishop  Butler  as  the  work  above  all  others  on  which 
the  mind  can  repose  with  the  most  entire  satisfaction  and  faith  found 
itself  as  on  a  rock." 

Dr.  Butler  said  to  a  friend  that  his  plan  in  writing  the  "  Analogy  "  had 
been  "  to  endeavor  to  answer  as  he  went  along  every  possible  objection  that 
might  occur  to  anyone  against  any  position  of  his  in  his  book." 

Horace  Waljiole   wrote  to   Horace  Mann: 

"The  Bishop  of  Durham  (chandler),  another  great  writer  of  contro- 
versy, is  dead,  too,  immensely  rich;  he  is  succeeded  by  Butler,  of  Bristol, 
a  metaphysic  author,  much  patronized  by  the  late  Queen;  she  never  could 
make  my  father  read  his  book,  and  which  she  certainly  did  not  understand 
herself." 

Sydney  Smith  said:  "To  his  Sermons  we  are  indebted  for  the  complete 
overthrow  of  the  selfish  system,  and  to  his  Analogy  for  the  most  noble 
and  suri)rising  defence  of  revealed  religions,  perhaps,  which  has  ever  yet 
been  made  of  any  system  whatever."  As  a  moral  philosopher  Joseph  But- 
ler may  he  cntitied  to  the  credit  of  foimding  the  Scotch  school,  followed 
by  Thomas  Brown  and  later  metaphysicians,  both  his  Sermons  and  the 
Analogy  were  tnainly  aimed  at  the  theories  of  Hobhes,  claiming  that  man 
is  by  nature  more  inclined  to  virtue  than  to  vice. 

97 


H  U  D  I  B  R  A  S 


THE  FIRST  PART. 


Written  in  the  time  of  the  late  Wars. 


LONDON, 

Printed  by  5P,  G,  for  nichard  Marrkt^  nnder  Saint 
J>tmBans  Church  in  Flatfirget.    \66j. 


28 


SAMUEL  BUTLER 

(1612-1680) 

HUDIBRAS.  The  First  Part.  Written  in  the 
Time  of  the  Late  Wars.  [Device.]  London:  Printed 
by  J.  G.,  for  Richard  jNIarriot,  under  Saint  Dunstan's 
Church,  in  Fleet  Street.     1663. 

3  vols.,  l6mo  and  12mo,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the 
rough,  by  Riviere  &  Son.  $300.00 

Altiiough  "  written  in  the  time  of  tiie  late  Wars  "  "  Hudibras  "  was  not 
licensed  to  be  printed  until  November  11,  1662,  two  years  after  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  monarchy,  when  a  satire  on  Puritanism  could  no 
longer  give  offence  to  the  ruling  party.  On  the  contrary,  the  satisfaction 
which  it  gave  to  the  King  and  Court  had  much  to  do  with  the  great  success 
it  achieved.     Butler  himself  records  the  royal  favor: 

"  He  never  ate,  nor  drank,  nor  slept, 
But  Hudibras  still  near  him  kept; 
Nor  would  he  go  to  church  or  so. 
But  Hudibras  must  with  him  go." 

Harriot,  the  successful  publisher  of  Walton's  "  Angler,"  and  some  of 
Donne's  books,  issued  the  first  part  in  three  different  forms:  large  octavo, 
small  octavo,  and  duodecimo;  the  last  two  sizes  being  sold  for  a  lower 
price  than  the  former,  to  meet  the  popular  demand  for  the  work. 

Probably  the  best  criticism  of  "  Hudibras "  is  contained  in  Johnson's 
Life  of  Butler: 

"  The  poem  of  '  Hudibras '  is  one  of  those  compositions  of  which  a 
nation  may  justly  boast,  as  the  images  which  it  exhibits  are  domestic,  the 
sentiments  unborrowed  and  unexpected,  and  the  strain  of  diction  original 
and  peculiar.  We  must  not,  however,  suffer  the  pride  which  we  assume 
as  the  countrjTnen  of  Butler  to  make  any  encroachment  upon  justice,  nor 
appropriate  those  honours  which  others  have  a  right  to  share.  The  poem  of 
'Hudibras'  is  not  wholly  English;  the  original  idea  is  to  be  found  in  the 
history  of  '  Don  Quixote '  ;  a  book  to  which  a  mind  of  the  greatest  powers 
may  be  indebted  without  disgrace.  ...  In  forming  the  character  of  '  Hudi- 
bras,' and  describing  his  person  and  habiliments,  the  author  seems  to  labour 
with  a  tumultuous  confusion  of  dissimilar  ideas.  He  had  read  the  history 
of  the  mock  knights-errant,  he  knew  the  notions  and  manners  of  a  Pres- 
byterian magistrate,  and  tried  to  unite  the  absurdities  of  both,  however 
distant,  in  one  personage.  Thus  he  gives  him  that  pedantic  ostentation  of 
knowledge,  which  has  no  relation  to  chivalry,  and  loads  him  with  martial 
enciombrances  that  can  add  nothing  to  his  civil  dignity.  ...  If  inexhaust- 
ible wit  could  give  perpetual  pleasure  no  eye  could  ever  leave  half  read 
the  work  of  Butler;  for  what  poet  has  ever  brought  so  many  remote  images 
so  happily  together?  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  peruse  a  page  without  find- 
ing some  association  of  images  that  was  never  found  before. 

"  By  the  first  paragraph  the  reader  is  amused,  by  the  next  he  is  de- 
lighted, and  by  a  few  more  strained  to  astonishment.  ...  If  the  French 
boast  the  learning  of  Rabelais,  we  need  not  be  afraid  of  confronting  them 
with    Butler." 

Wood  describes  Butler  as  "a  boon  and  witty  companion,"  especially 
among  the  company  he  knew  well;  and  Aubrey  writes  of  his  appearance 
as  a  man  of  middle  stature,  strong  set,  high  colored,  a  head  of  sorrel  hair, 
a  severe  and  sound  judgment  and  a  good  fellow. 

29 


GEORGE  GORDON  NOEL, 
LORD  BYRON 

(1788-1824) 

DON  JUAN.  Difficile  Est  Proprie  Commimia 
Dicere.  Hor.  Epist.  ad  Pison.  London:  Printed  by 
Thomas  Davison,  Whitefriars.     1819-1824. 

7  vols.,  1  vol.  4to  and  6  vols.  8vo,  full  polished  calf,  gilt  top, 
by  Riviere.  $115.00 

The  First  Editions  of  this  famous  book.  It  was  originally  intended 
to  issue  this  poem  in  4to  size,  but  after  Cantos  I  &  II  were  so  made  it 
was  decided  to  change  the  form  to  8vo.  The  set  contains  also  the  second 
issue  of  Cantos  I  &  II.  While  Byron  was  able  to  produce  his  poetry  with 
great  rapidity  he  spent  much  time  and  care  over  "  Don  Juan."  He  began 
the  first  canto  in  the  autumn  of  1818,  and  he  was  still  at  work  on  a  seven- 
teenth canto  in  the  early  part  of  1823.  The  poem  was  issued  in  parts, 
though  not  at  regular  intervals,  and  the  delay  is  partly  accounted  for 
by  the  discouragement  and  open  disapproval  of  some  of  Byron's  friends 
and  the  hesitation  of  his  publisher. 

He  writes  to  Moore  under  date  of  September  19,  1818:  "I  have  fin- 
ished the  first  canto  of  a  poem  in  the  style  and  manner  of  '  Beppo,'  en- 
couraged by  the  good  success  of  the  same.  It  is  .  .  .  meant  to  be  a  little 
quietly  facetious  upon  everything." 

Shortly  after  the  publication  of  the  two  first  cantos  he  writes  to  Mur- 
ray: "You  ask  me  for  the  plan  of  Donny  Johnny.  I  have  no  plan — I  had 
no  plan,  but  I  had  or  have  materials.  .  .  .  You  are  too  earnest  and  eager 
about  a  work  never  intended  tcT  be  serious.  Do  you  suppose  that  I  could 
have  any  intention  but  to  giggle  and  make  giggle? — a  playful  satire,  with 
as  little  poetry  as  could  be  helped,  was  what  I  meant." 

Later  he  wrote,  also  to  Murray:  "  I  had  not  quite  fixed  whether  to  make 
him  end  in  Hell,  or  in  an  unhappy  marriage,  not  knowing  which  would  be 
the  severest." 

The  earlier  issues  of  the  first  five  cantos  were  doubly  anonymous;  the 
title-pages  bore  neither  the  author's  name  nor  the  publisher's. 

Byron  anticipated  trouble:  "  Methinks  I  see  you  [Murray]  with  a  long 
face  about  '  Don  Juan,'  anticipating  the  outcry  and  the  scalping  reviews 
that  will  ensue;  all  that  is  my  aflfair.  Why,  Man,,  it  will  be  nuts  to  all  of 
them;  they  never  had  such  an  opportunity  of  being  terrible;  but  don't 
you  be  out  of  sorts.  ...  I  am  particularly  aware  that  '  Don  Juan '  must 
set  us  all  by  the  ears,  but  that  is  my  concern,  and  my  beginning:  there 
will  be  the  Edinburgh  and  all  too  against  it,  so  that,  like  Rob  Roy,  I  shall 
have  my  hands  full." 

Walter  Scott  reviewed  it  in  the  Edinburgh  Weekly  Journal,  saying  that 
the  author  "  has  embraced  every  topic  of  human  life,  and  sounded  every 
string  of  the  divine  harp,  from  its  slightest  to  its  most  powerful  and 
heart-astounding  tones." 

Shelley  wrote  to  Byron :  "  Nothing  has  ever  been  written  like  it  in  Eng- 
lish, nor,  if  I  may  venture  to  prophesy,  will  there  be,  unless  carrying  upon 
it  the  mark  of  a  secondary  and  borrowed  light." 

In  direct  contrast  to  this  we  have  Moore's  frank  opinion:  "The  most 
painful  display  of  the  versatility  of  genius  that  has  ever  been  left  for 
succeeding  ages  to  wonder  at  or  deplore."  One  critic  spoke  of  it  as  "  the 
Odyssey  of  Immorality." 

30 


LEWIS  CARROLL 

(CHARLES    LUTWIDGE    DODGSON) 

(1832-1898) 

ALICE'S  ADVENTURES  IN  WONDER- 
LAND. By  Lewis  Carroll.  With  Forty-two  Illustra- 
tions by  John  Tenniel.  London:  jMacmillan  &  Co., 
1866.  The  Right  of  Translation  and  Reproduction  is 
Reserved. 

12mo,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  edges,  by  Riviere  & 
Son.  '  $75.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  original  covers  preserved.  In  "  Lewis  Carroll's  " 
diary,  under  date  of  July  4,  1862,  there  appears  this  entry:  "  I  made  an 
expedition  up  the  river  to  Godstow  with  the  three  Liddells;  we  had  tea  on 
the  bank  there,  and  did  not  reach  Christ  Church  till  half-past  eight."  To 
this  note  he  added  later:  "On  which  occasion  I  told  them  the  fairy-tale  of 
'  Alice's  Adventures  Underground,'  which  I  undertook  to  write  out  for 
Alice." 

This  was  the  first  title.  Later  he  used  "  Alice's  Hour  in  Elfland,"  and 
it  was  not  until  June  18,  1864,  that  he  came  to  a  final  decision. 

It  seems  certain  that  the  manuscript  was  shown  to  many  friends,  among 
whom  was  George  Macdonald,  who  persuaded  the  author  to  submit  his 
fairy  story  to  a  publisher.  An  illustrator  was  secured  in  the  person  of  Sir 
John  Tenniel.  On  July  4,  1865,  exactly  three  years  after  the  row  up  the 
river,  Miss  Alice  Liddell  received  the  first  presentation  copy  of  "  Alice's 
Adventures  in  Wonderland."  The  first  edition  consisted  of  two  thousand 
copies,  which  were  more  than  the  author  hoped  to  dispose  of. 

However,  "  Alice,"  instead  of  proving  a  loss,  as  had  been  predicted, 
brought  in  a  considerable  income  each  year.  In  its  final  form  it  was  prac- 
tically the  same  story  as  when  told  in  the  boat.  The  whole  idea  was  a 
sudden  inspiration.  One  story  associated  with  "  Lewis  Carroll "  tells  of 
a  visit  to  Whitly.  He  had  gathered  some  children  around  him,  and  was 
telling  them  a  charming  story  of  sea-urchins  and  Ammonites.  The  mother 
of  one  of  the  children,  who  overheard  part  of  the  story,  said  at  the  end: 
"  You  must  be  the  author  of  '  Alice's  Adventures.'  He  laughed,  but  looked 
astonished  and  said:  "My  dear  Madam,  my  name  is  Dodgson,  and  'Alice's 
Adventures  '  was  written  by  Lewis  Carroll."  However,  after  a  little  spar- 
ring, he  admitted  the  truth. 

It  was  this  dual  nature  which  surprised  so  many  people;  the  Dodgson 
of  the  books  of  logic  and  mathematics  and  the  "  Lewis  Carroll "  of  the 
fairy  stories.  The  story  is  told  of  Queen  Mctoria  that  on  reading  "  Alice 
in  Wonderland  "  she  was  so  delighted  with  it  that  she  gave  orders  that 
all  the  books  written  by  the  same  author  were  to  be  sent  her.  She  re- 
ceived, much  to  her  surprise,  a  collection  of  treatises  on  Euclid,  Quater- 
nions and  other  abstruse  mathematical  problems.  From  1855  to  1881  "  Lewis 
Carroll  "  held  the  position  of  mathematical  lecturer  at  Christ  Church,  Ox- 
ford. This  office  was  an  easy  one,  and  allowed  him  great  freedom  for  his 
own  studies.  He  was,  for  many  years,  almost  a  recluse,  known  to  very  few 
people  at  Oxford.  Only  once  in  a  while  did  he  visit  London,  and  then  it 
was  usually  to  take  some  child  to  the  theatre.  He  went  to  Eastbourne 
summers,  and  to  his  own  home  at  the  Christmas  holidays.  He  lived  to 
see  a  German  translation  of  "  Alice,"  but  would  probably  be  somewhat 
surprised  to  know  that  "chortle"  had  found  its  way  into  the  New  English 
Dictionary.  He  has  had  many  imitators,  but  few,  if  any,  equals  as  a  teller 
of  nonsense  stories. 

31 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN 

(1559-1634) 

THE  WHOLE  WORKS  OF  HOMER; 
PRINCE  OF  POETTS  IN  HIS  ILIADS,  AND 
ODYSSES.  Translated  according  to  the  Greeke.  By 
Geo.  Chapman.  De  IK :  et  Odiss.  Omnia  ab,  his :  et  in 
his  sunt  onmia  sive  beati  Te  decor  eloquij,  seu  rern  pon- 
dera  tangmit.  Angel:  Pol:  At  London  printed  for 
Nathaniell  Butter.    William  Hole  sculp. 

Folio,  3  parts  in  1  vol.,  full  calf.  $300.00 

The  First  Edition,  wanting  the  engraved  titles  to  the  "  Odyssey "  and 
"  Battle  of  Frogs."  This  is  the  first  edition  with  the  portrait  of 
Chapman  (dated  1616)  on  the  reverse  of  the  title,  and  containing  for  the 
first  time  the  fine  engraved  plate  to  the  memory  of  Prince  Henry. 

Though  Butter  was  the  publisher  of  Dekker's  "  Belman  of  London,"  and, 
with  John  Busby,  of  Shakespeare's  "  Lear,"  he  is  chiefly  to  be  remembered 
for  two  things,  for  his  success  as  a  compiler  and  publisher  of  pamphlets 
of  news — a  success  which  entitles  him  to  the  place  of  father  of  the  London 
press — and  for  his  connection  with  Chapman. 

In  1609  (?)  Samuel  Macham  brought  out,  in  small  folio  form,  "Homer, 
Prince  of  Poets,  in  twelve  bookes  of  his  "  Iliads,"  embellished  with  an 
engraved  title-page  by  William  Hole,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  English 
engravers  on  copper-plates.  Inflated  with  his  subject,  the  artist  crowded 
the  title  into  a  small  central  panel  the  better  to  present  his  conception  of 
Vulcan,  ApoUo,  Achilles,  Hector,  and  Homer,  in  a  composition  which,  if 
topheavy,  was  more  dignified  and  better  drawn  than  many  of  the  borders 
ascribed  to  him. 

Under  date  of  April  8,  1611,  we  find  in  the  Stationers'  Register  that 
Butter  "  Entered  for  his  copy  by  consente  of  Samuell  Masham,  a  booke 
called  Homer's  "  Iliads "  in  English  contayning  24  bookes."  With  his 
right  to  print,  he  also  received  the  right  to  use  the  Hole  frontispiece, 
which  he  had  reengraved  on  a  larger  scale  for  the  new  book.  The  date  of 
issue  is  not  given,  but  it  could  not  have  been  later  than  November  6,  1612, 
the  date  of  the  death  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  whom  the  book  is  dedi- 
cated, and  it  was  probably  published  soon  after  the  date  of  copyright. 
The  printer's  name  is  also  lacking;  but  reasons  exist  for  thinking  that 
more  than  one  worked  on  the  book,  and  that  there  were  several  issues. 
There  are  copies  whose  signatures  agree  with  those  of  the  volumes  of 
our  issue,  but  these  are  printed  with  diff'erent  type,  on  poorer  paper,  and 
the  initial  letters  and  other  ornaments  are  of  a  much  cruder  sort. 

After  Chapman  had  published  his  translation  of  the  "  Iliad,"  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  "  Odyssey,"  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  "  Iliad,"  he  went 
to  press  with  half  of  it  first.  Butter  being  the  publisher.  The  volume 
ends  with  the  words  "  finis  duodecim  libri  Hom.  Odyss.  Opus  nouem 
dierum,"  and  begins  with  one  of  the  most  charming  and  perfect  title- 
pages  of  the  period,  the  greater  pity  therefore  that  it  is  unsigned.  Its 
composition  shows  the  poet  in  the  midst  of  a  company  of  laurel-crowned 
spirits,  whose  ethereal  forms  are  expressed  in  stipple,  with  legends  which 
read :  "  Solus  sapit  hie  homo,  Reliqui  vero,"  and  "  Umbrae  mouentur." 
Above,  the  title  is  supported  by  two  cupids,  and  below  are  seated  figures 
of  Athena,  and  Ulysses  with  his  dog.  The  whole  plate  was  delicately 
drawn. 

82 


CHARLES  I 

(1600-1649) 

EIKOX  BASILIKE.  THE  POURTRAIC- 
TURE  OF  HIS  SACRED  MAIESTIE  IN  HIS 
SOLITUDES  AND  SUFFERINGS.  Rom.  8. 
jMore  then  Conquerour,  etc.  Bona  agere,  &  mala  pati, 
Regirnn  est.    M.DC.XLVIII. 

l6mo,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough.         $45.00 

"  Eikon  Basilike,"  or  the  king's  book,  is  written  in  the  first  person,  and 
while  displaying  Charles  Ist's  piety  sets  forth  an  explanation  of  his  policy. 
Charles  II,  is  said  to  have  remarked  to  Gaiidens  that  if  it  had  come  out 
a  week  earlier  it  would  have  saved  his  father's  life.  It  was  issued  in 
twenty-eight  sections,  as:  (1)  Upon  his  Majesty's  calling  the  last  parlia- 
ment. (2)  Upon  the  Earl  of  Strafford's  death,  and  so  forth,  giving  as 
from  the  king's  own  lips  a  popular  interpretation  of  his  actions,  each  sec- 
tion ending  with  a  strain  of  prayer.  The  Marquis  of  Hertford  said  after  its 
publication  that  Charles  had  not  wished  the  book  to  be  issued  as  his  own, 
but  it  was  argued  that  Cromwell  and  others  of  the  army  having  a  great 
reputation  with  the  people  for  piety,  it  would  be  best  to  issue  it  in  the 
king's  name.  The  authorship  was  disputed  at  the  time,  and  even  yet  it 
is  believed  by  many  bibliographers  to  be  the  work  of  Bishop  Gauden,  the 
king's  chaplain.  He  attempted  to  prove  his  authorship  about  1661,  which 
resulted  in  the  following  amusing  letter  from  Lord  Clarendon:  "The 
particular  which  you  often  renewed,  I  do  confesse  was  imparted  to  me 
under  secrecy,  and  of  which  I  did  not  take  myself  to  be  at  liberty  to  take 
notice;  and  truly,  when  it  ceases  to  be  a  secret,  I  know  nobody  will  be 
gladde  of  it  but  Mr.  Milton.  I  have  very  often  wished  I  had  never  been 
trusted   with   it." 

In  the  sale  of  the  library  of  the  Marquis  of  Anglesea,  a  private  note  was 
found  in  his  copy  of  "  Eikon  Basilike,"  saying  that  when  in  1675  he  was 
showing  Charles  II  and  the  Duke  of  York  the  manuscript  of  the  work, 
with  corrections  in  their  father's  hand,  they  assured  him  "  that  this  was 
none  of  the  king's  compiling,  but  made  by  Dr.  Gauden,  Bishop  of  Exeter." 

A  few  hours  after  the  execution  of  Charles  the  First,  his  book  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  people,  and  so  marvelous  was  its  effect  that  contemporary 
authorities  declare  that  nothing  but  the  government's  ingenious  and  per- 
sistent condemnation  of  the  work  prevented  an  immediate  restoration  of 
the  monarchy.  Those  engaged  in  the  publication  were  hunted  down  and 
imprisoned;  but,  in  spite  of  every  obstacle,  the  anxiety  of  the  Cavaliers 
to  possess  copies  of  this  touching  memorial  was  so  great,  and  the  persever- 
ance of  the  printers  so  determined,  that  the  work  was  newly  put  in  type 
over  and  over  again  and  published  with  a  rapidity  that  has  never  to  this 
day  been  equalled.  Fresh  editions  appeared  almost  daily  at  first,  and 
afterwards  every  week  for  a  time  numerous  modern  editions  and  facsimiles 
have  been  published. 

At  the  time  of  its  appearance,  and  subsequently,  the  Eikon  was  spoken 
of  as  "  The  King's  Book."  The  natural  assumption  is  that  the  king 
wrote  it.  The  contrary  has  certainly  not  been  proved.  A  touching  pathos 
and  simple  dignity  pervade  every  chapter.  In  reading  these  meditations 
the  king's  subjects  instantly  recognized  the  stainj)  of  the  king's  own  char- 
acter in  every  i)age.  Ringing  through  every  chapter  there  is  a  vein  of 
calmness  and  patience,  preeminently  characteristic  of  Charles  the  First. 

38 


A  T  A  L  A, 

OU 

LES    AMOURS 

D  E 

DEUX   SAUVAGES 

DANS     X.  E     desert; 

Par  pRANcais-AuGUSTB* 
CHATEAUBRIAND. 


A    PARIS, 

TMigneret,  Tmprimeur ,   rufr 
^      Jacob,  N.°  1186; 


Cliez 

de  la  Loi ,  N.°  288 


^  Etkl'ancienneLibrairiedpDopOHT, 
f       rue  d( 


AN    IX.    (1801.) 


34 


FRANCOIS  RENE-AUGUSTE 
CHATEAUBRIAND 

(1768-1848) 

ATALA,  OU  LES  AMOURS  DE  DEUX  SAU- 
VAGES  DANS  LE  DESERT;  PAR  FRANCOIS 
— AUGUSTE  CHATEAUBRIAND.  A  Paris: 
Chez  JNIigneret,  Imprimeur,  Rue  Jacob,  No.  1186,  et 
a  I'Ancienne  Libraire  de  Dupont,  Rue  de  la  Loi,  No. 
288.    An.  IX.     (1801.) 

18mo,  full  crushed  crimson  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough,  by 
Hardy-Mennil.  $30.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  the  book-plate  of  C.  Jolly  Bavoillot,  designed 
by  Giacomelli.  In  1790  Chateaubriand  came  to  America  on  an  appoint- 
ment from  the  government,  the  purpose  of  the  trip  supposedly  to  find  the 
Northwest  Passage.  This  he  apparently  made  no  attempt  to  do.  He  was 
able  to  travel  over  a  considerable  amount  of  territory,  and  saw  the  great 
lakes  and  portions  of  the  West  and  Florida.  This  life  in  America,  and  his 
meetings  with  various  Indian  tribes,  inspired  his  "  Natchez,"  "  Rene,"  and 
"  Atala."  The  latter  is  the  story  of  a  young  Indian  girl  of  that  name  who 
is  in  love  with  Chactas,  an  Indian  who  is  held  captive  by  her  tribe,  by  whom 
the  story  is  told.  She  has  become  a  Christian,  and  has  taken  oaths  of 
perj^ietual  \irginity.  The  story  was  published  in  1801,  had  an  immedi- 
ate success,  and  was  translated  into  nearly  all  the  European  languages. 
Its  publication  marks  the  beginning  of  the  French  Romantic  school,  and 
the  author  was  recognized  as  the  literary  glory  of  his  age. 

The  story  lacked  reality,  and  the  picture  of  Indian  life  was  wildly  im- 
probable, but  it  appealed  to  the  people  of  the  period,  and  extorted  from 
Europe  a  general  exclamation  of  surprise   and   admiration. 

The  turbulent  times  of  the  French  Revolution  affected  Chateaubriand 
materially.  As  a  noble  he  was  expatriated,  and  he  sought  refuge  in  Lon- 
don, supporting  himself  by  the  precarious  life  of  a  teacher  of  French,  and 
working  at  a  pitiful  salary  in  a  bookseller's  shop.  Suifering  hunger,  not 
used  to  labor  with  his  hands,  it  was  only  natural  that  his  spirit  should 
break  under  the  strain;  he  lost  faith,  and  while  crouching  under  the  succes- 
sive blows  of  misfortune  wrote  his  "  Essai  Historique,  Politique  et  Morale 
sur  les  Revolutions  Ancienncs,"  influenced  by  the  opinions  of  Voltaire,  and 
the  prevailing  scepticism.  An  enterprising  publisher  printed  it,  but  it  was 
.scarcely  noticed  until  later  when  the  author  became  famous.  It  was  re- 
printed many  times  without  his  consent,  for  by  that  time  his  belief  in  the 
goodness  of  things  and  his  faith  had  returned,  and  when  he  at  last  did  pub- 
lish a  new  edition  himself  it  was  with  notes  pointing  out  the  errors.  When 
the  decree  of  expulsion  was  annulled,  Chateaubriand  returned  to  France, 
where  he  soon  obtained  a  position  as  Editor-in-Chief  of  Le  Mercure  Pran- 
goise.  "Atala"  first  ai)j)eared  in  its  j>agcs.  It  was  rejirinted  surrepti- 
tiously in  this  edition  immediately  on  its  conclusion,  without  the  author's 
consent.  I>ater  he  published  a  continiiation,  when  he  had  abandoned  his 
first  idea  of  making  it  merely  an  episode  in  his  great  i)oem,  "  Les  Natcliez." 

85 


EARL  OF  CHESTERFIELD 

(PHILIP    DORMER    STANHOPE) 

(1694-1773) 

LETTERS  WRITTEN  BY  THE  LATE 
RIGHT  HONOURABLE  PHILIP  DORMER 
STANHOPE,  EARL  OF  CHESTERFIELD, 
TO  HIS  SON,  PHILIP  STANHOPE,  ESQ., 
LATE  ENVOY  EXTRAORDINARY  AT  THE 
COURT  OF  DRESDEN:  TOGETHER  WITH 
SEVERAL  OTHER  PIECES  ON  VARIOUS 
SUBJECTS.  Published  by  Mrs.  Eugenia  Stanhope, 
from  the  Originals  now  in  her  possession.  In  Two  Vol- 
umes. Vol.  I.  London:  Printed  for  J.  Dodsley,  in 
Pall  MaU.    MDCCLXXIV. 

2  vols.,  4to,  frontispiece  portrait,  original  boards,  uncut.     $37.50 

The  First  Edition.  The  Letters  were  written  by  Lord  Chesterfield  to  his 
illegitimate  son,  Philip  Stanhope.  They  were  written  to  a  special  person, 
and  with  a  special  purpose;  they  were  never  intended  to  serve  as  a  code 
of  morality,  but  rather  form  an  elementary  text-book  of  diplomacy.  The 
boy  was  everything  that  his  father  deplored.  He  was  awkward,  uncouth; 
proficient  in  most  studies,  but  lacking  in  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

The  letters  were  not  intended  for  the  eyes  of  the  public,  but  were 
issued  after  Lord  Chesterfield's  death.  They  met  with  severe  censure 
from  Dr.  Johnson,  who  said,  however,  that  "  leaving  out  the  immorality  the 
Letters  might  be  made  a  very  pretty  book  which  should  be  put  into  the 
hands  of  every  yoimg  gentleman." 

Horace  Walpole  writes:  "The  work  is  a  most  proper  book  of  laws  for 
the  generation  in  which  it  is  published,  and  has  reduced  the  folly  and 
worthlessness  of  the  age  to  a  regular  system."  He  sums  it  up  as  "  the 
whole  duty  of  man  adapted  to  the  meanest  capacities."  He  also  says  that 
Chesterfield  "  was  sensible  what  a  cub  he  had  to  work  on,  and  whom  two 
quartos  of  licking  could  not  mould,  for  cub  he  remained  to  his  death." 

Mrs.  Delaney  writes:  "I  am  not  at  all  surprised  that  you  should  be  en- 
tertained with  Lord  Chesterfield's  Letters  and  approve  of  many  of  them, 
but  I  am  afraid  as  you  go  on  his  duplicity  and  immorality  will  give  you 
as  much  oflFence  as  his  indiscriminating  accusation  does  the  ladies.  Those 
who  do  not  deserve  his  lash  despise  it,  and  conclude  he  kept  very  bad  com- 
pany. Those  who  are  conscious  they  deserve  his  censure  will  be  piqued 
but  silent."  She  also  described  the  book  as  "  A  melody  of  sense,  knowl- 
edge of  the  world,  attention  to  the  minutest  articles  of  good  breeding,  en- 
tertainment, satire,  and  immorality,  and  not  a  few  inconsistencies:  for  at 
the  same  time  he  recommends  decency  of  behaviour  and  avoiding  all  low 
vices,  he  recommends  everything  that  can  shake  the  foundation  of  virtue 
and  religion,  though  at  times  he  mentions  both  as  necessary." 

At  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1773,  Lord  Chesterfield  was  known  only  as 
the  author  of  two  numbers  of  "  The  World  "  and  other  brief  productions, 
which  were  published  under  the  title  of  "Miscellanies"  in  1777.  His  son 
had  died  in  1768.  From  the  time  of  the  publication  these  letters  have 
been  admired  for  the  beauty  of  their  style,  and  prized  for  the  knowledge  of 
the  world  which  thev  display. 

36 


SAMUEL  TAYLOR  COLERIDGE 

(1772-1834) 

CHRISTABEL:  KUBLA  KHAN,  A  VISION; 
THE  PAINS  OF  SLEEP.  By  S.  T.  Coleridge, 
Esq.  London:  Printed  for  John  Murray,  Albemarle 
Street,  by  William  Bulmer  &  Co.,  Cleveland  Row,  St. 
James's. '  1816. 

8vo,  original  bro^vn  paper  wrappers,  uncut.  $18.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  the  4  pages  of  advertisements.  When  Words- 
worth and  Coleridge  were  planning  the  joint  volume  of  "Lyrical  Ballads," 
Coleridge  had  under  way  his  "  Ancient  Mariner,"  the  "  Dark  Ladie,"  and 
"  Christabel."  Of  these  only  the  "  Ancient  Mariner  "  appeared  in  the  pub- 
lished volume.  "  Christabel "  remained  in  manuscript  form  until  1816,  when 
the  first  and  second  parts  were  published  together  with  "  Ivubla  Khan " 
and  the  "  Pains  of  Sleep."  There  were  three  parts  of  Christabel  yet  to 
come,  which  Coleridge  hoped  to  finish  within  a  year,  but  they  never  ap- 
peared. 

Coleridge,  writing  to  his  wife,  April  4,  1803,  says: 

"  To-day  I  dine  again  with  Sotheby.  He  had  informed  me  that  ten 
gentlemen  who  have  met  me  at  his  house  desired  him  to  solicit  me  to  finish 
the  'Christabel,'  and  to  permit  them  to  publish  it  for  me;  and  they  en- 
gaged that  it  should  be  in  paper,  printing  and  decorations  the  most  mag- 
nificent thing  that  had  hitherto  appeared.  Of  course  I  declined  it.  The 
lovely  lady  shan't  come  to  that  pass !  Many  times  rather  would  I  have  it 
printed  at  Soulby's  on  the  true  ballad  paper.  However,  it  was  civil,  and 
Sotheby  is  very  civil  to  me." 

It  was  in  1816  that  Coleridge  took  up  his  residence  with  the  Gillmans, 
arriving  with  the  proof-sheets  of  "  Christabel "  in  his  hand.  Charles  Lamb 
has  recorded  this  episode:  "Coleridge  is  printing  'Christabel'  by  Lord 
Byron's  recommendation  to  ^Murray,  with  what  he  calls  a  vision,  Kubia 
Khan,  which  said  vision  he  repeats  so  enchantingly  that  it  irradiates  and 
brings  heaven  and  Elysian  bowers  into  my  parlour  while  he  sings  or  says 
it  .  .  .  his  face  when  he  repeats  his  verses  hath  in  its  ancient  glory,  an 
Archangel  a  little  damaged." 

Murray  paid  Coleridge  eighty  pounds  for  the  copyright  with  the  under- 
standing that  if  "Christabel"  were  completed  the  copyright  should  revert 
to  Coleridge.  The  volume  was  well  received  by  the  public,  and  a  second 
edition  was  soon  required.  The  reviews  for  the  most  part  criticised  it 
severely,  and  Coleridge  was  much  hurt  by  the  notice  in  the  Edinburgh 
Review  which  he  thought  was  written  by  Hazlitt.  This  said  that  "Christa- 
bel "  was  "  utterly  destitute  of  value,  exhibiting  from  beginning  to  end  not 
one  ray  of  genius." 

One  must  not  pass  over  this  book  without  giving  a  quotation  from  the 
voluble  Dibdin  on  the  merits  of  its  printer  and  his  press,  "  The  Shakespeare 
Press."  "  Trivial  as  the  theme  may  appear,"  says  he,  "  there  are  some 
very  reasonable  folks  who  would  prefer  an  account  of  this  eminent  ])ress 
to  the  History  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  I  frankly  own  myself  to  be 
of  that  number.  Nor  is  it — with  due  reference  be  it  said  to  William  Bul- 
mer &  Co. — from  the  least  admiration  of  the  exterior  or  interior  of  this 
printing-office  that  I  take  up  my  pen  in  behalf  of  it;  but  because  it  has 
effectually  contributed  to  the  ])rom(>tion  of  belles-lettres,  and  national  im- 
provement  in   the  matter  of   puncheon   fmd   matrix." 

37 


402B19 


WILLIAM  COLLINS 

(1721-1759) 

ODES  ON  SEVERAL  DESCRIPTIVE  AXD 
ALLEGORIC  SUBJECTS.  By  WiUiam  Collins. 
[Quotation.]  Vignette.  London:  Printed  for  A.  Mil- 
lar, in  the  Strand.  M.DCC.XLVII.  Price,  One  Shil- 
ling. 

8\'0,  full  green  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  edges  by  Riviere  & 
Son.  $85.00 

The  First  Edition.  William  Collins  was  born  at  Chichester  on  Christmas 
Day,  1721.  His  father,  who  was  a  hatter,  was  then  Mayor  of  Chichester. 
The  boy  was  educated  at  Winchester  and  Oxford,  and  early  determined  to 
devote  himself  to  literature.  When  only  eighteen  his  verses  had  aj^peared 
in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine. 

In  1746  Collins  and  his  friend,  Joseph  Warton,  the  critic,  both  at  the 
time  unknown,  proposed  to  issue  a  volume  of  poems  together:  "Collins  met 
me  in  Surrey,  at  Guildford  races,  when  I  wrote  out  for  him  my  odes,  and 
he  likewise  communicated  some  of  his  to  me;  and,  being  both  in  very  high 
spirits,  we  took  courage  and  resolved  to  join  our  forces  and  to  publish 
them  immediately."  The  plan,  however,  fell  through  and  they  finally  pub- 
lished separately,  though  almost  simultaneously.  This  work,  though  dated 
1747,  really  appeared  in  December,  1746.  "  Warton's  Odes  on  Various 
Subjects,"  London,  1746,  reached  a  second  edition.  CoUins's  book,  however, 
was  not  a  success  and  having  purchased  the  unsold  copies  of  the  first 
edition  from  the  booksellers  he  set  fire  to  them  with  his  own  hand,  as  if 
to  revenge  himself  on  the  apathy  and  ignorance  of  the  public.  From  this 
melancholy  period  of  his  life  his  insanity  is  supposed  to  have  dated.  Mit- 
ford  states  that  Collins's  work  was  so  little  known  that  Goldsmith  dared 
to  "  lift "  whole  lines  and  passages  and  use  them  as  his  own.  "  Each,"  wrote 
Gray,  "  is  the  half  of  a  considerable  man,  and  one  the  counterpart  of  the 
other.  The  first  [Warton]  has  but  little  invention,  very  poetical  choice  of 
expression  and  a  good  ear.  The  second  [Collins]  a  fine  fancy  modelled 
upon  the  antique,  a  bad  ear,  great  variety  of  words  and  images  with  no 
choice  at  all.  They  both  deserve  to  last  some  years,  but  will  not !  Prob- 
ably the  final  word  on  Collins  has  been  pronounced  by  Swinburne: 

"  In  the  little  book  of  Odes  which  dropped  a  still-born  immortal  from 
the  press,  and  was  finally  burned  up  even  to  the  last  procurable  copy 
by  the  hands  of  its  author  in  a  fever-fit  of  angry  despair,  there  was  hardly 
a  single  false  note;  and  there  were  not  many  less  than  sweet  or  strong. 
There  was,  above  all  things,  a  purity  of  music,  a  clarity  of  style,  to  which 
I  know  of  no  parallel  in  English  verse  from  the  death  of  Andrew  Marvell 
to  the  birth  of  William  Blake.  Here,  in  the  twilight  which  followed  on 
the  splendid  sunset  of  Pope,  was  at  last  a  poet  who  was  content  to  sing 
out  what  he  had  in  him — to  sing  and  not  to  say,  without  a  glimpse  of  wit 
or   a   flash   of   eloquence." 

The  vignette  on  the  title-page,  representing  a  pan-pipe  and  harp 
surrounded  by  a  wreath  of  fruit,  laurel,  oak,  and  palm,  with  heads  of 
Pan  and  Apollo  at  the  top,  is  by  Gerard  Van  der  Gucht.  Thin  wood-cut 
head-bands  at  the  beginning  of  some  of  the  odes,  and  a  tail-piece  after  the 
first  one,  furnish  all  the  ornament  for  this  pathetic  volume. 

38 


WILLIAM  COWPER 

(1731-1800) 

JOHN   NEWTON 

(1725-1807) 

OLNEY  HYMNS.  In  Tliree  Books.  Book  I. 
On  Select  Texts  of  Scripture.  Book  II.  On  Occa- 
sional Subjects.  Book  III.  On  the  Progress  and 
Changes  of  the  Spiritual  Life.  Motto.  London: 
Printed  and  Sold  by  W.  Oliver,  No.  12  Bartholomew- 
Close;  Sold  also  by  J.  Buckland,  No.  57  Pater-Noster 
Row;  and  J.  Johnson,  No.  72  St.  Paul's  Churchyard. 
MDCCLXXIX. 

18mo,  full  black  morocco,  sprinkled  edges.  $10.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing,  for  tlie  first  time,  such  well-known  hymns 
as:  "Oh!  for  a  Closer  AValk  with  God,"  "Come  my  Soul  Thy  Suit  Pre- 
pare," "  Glorious  Things  of  Thee  Are  Spoken,"  "  There  is  a  Fountain 
Fill'd  With  Blood,"   and  many  others   equally   familiar. 

This  collection  of  hymns  was  published  in  1779,  and  they  have  had  a 
wide  circulation  and  a  great  and  lasting  popularity.  Cowper  con- 
tributed 68  pieces,  and  the  remaining  280  were  by  the  Rev.  John  Newton, 
who  had  been  the  curate  of  Olney  and  one  of  the  great  influences  in  Cow- 
per's  life.  Newton  was  a  remarkable  man.  The  son  of  a  sea  captain  he 
had  himself  commanded  a  slave  ship,  and  in  many  voyages  to  different 
parts  of  the  world  had  studied  constantly  to  perfect  himself  for  the  min- 
istry. He  took  Holy  Orders,  and  became  a  rather  conspicuous  member  of 
the  church.  As  curate  at  Olney  he  filled  the  church  to  overflowing,  and 
had  a  great  number  of  services.  He  used  Cowper  as  a  sort  of  lay-curate 
and  worker  in  parish  affairs.  Cowper  took  part  in  prayer-meetings,  vis- 
ited the  sick,  and  was  constant  in  his  attendance  at  the  many  services. 

Newton's  kindness  was  unfailing  during  the  long  years  of  Cowper's  ill- 
health  and  suicidal  mania,  however  injudicious  may  have  been  some  of 
his  modes  of  guidance.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Cowper  sought  relief  in 
keeping  the  hares  which  he  has  immortalized.  Newton  had,  however,  the 
reputation  of  preaching  people  mad,  and  Southey  gives  some  facts  which 
tend  to  justify  the  reputation.  His  influence  upon  Cowper  has  been  dif- 
ferently estimated  by  biographers  according  to  their  religious  preposses- 
sions. The  facts  are  wanting  which  will  enable  any  one  to  say  positively 
whether  Cowper's  mind  was  healthily  occupied  or  overwrought  under  New- 
ton's guidance.  The  friendship  was  a  lifetime  one.  Newton,  if  stern,  was 
a  man  of  sense  and  feeling.  It  seems  probable,  however,  that  he  was  in- 
sufficiently alive  to  the  danger  of  exciting  Cowper's  weak  nerves.  In  later 
years  Cowper's  letters,  though  often  playful,  laid  bare  to  Newton  alone  the 
gloomy  despondency  which  he  concealed  from  other  correspondents.  New- 
ton was,  in  fact,  his  spiritual  director,  and  Cowper  stood  in  some  awe  of 
him,  though  it  does  not  seem  fair  to  argue  that  the  gloom  was  caused  by 
Newton  because  revealed  to  him. 

The  publication  of  the  Olney  Hymns  was  considered  and  completed  be- 
fore Newton  left  Coleridge's  home,  and  he  continued  to  encourage  Cowjier 
in   publishing  "  The  Task  "  and  other  well-known  writings. 

39 


THE 

TASK, 

A 

P  O     '      E  M, 

IN        SIX       BOOKS. 
By     WILLIAM      COWPER, 

OP     THE     INNBR     TXMPLi,     ESQ^. 


Fit  furculus  arbor. 


To  which  arc  added, 
BY     THE     SAMB     AUTHOJt, 

An  Epistle  to  Joseph  Hill,  Efq.    Tirocinium,  or  a 
Review  of  Schools,  and  the  HrSTORYof  JohnGjlpim. 


LONDON* 

PJIINTBD    FOR    J.    JOHNSON,    N**    72,    «T.    PAUi'S 


C  H  V  R  C  H-y  AR  D. 
1785. 

40 


WILLIAM  COWPER 

(1731-1800) 

POEMS.  By  William  Cowper,  of  the  Inner  Tem- 
ple. [Quotation.]  London:  Printed  for  J.  Johnson, 
Xo.  72  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  1782. 

2  vols.,  12mo,  full  sprinkled  calf,  yellow  edges,  by  Bedford. 

$75.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing  the  book  plate  of  William  Gott.  In  Oc- 
tober, 1784,  WUliam  Cawthorne  Unwin, 

"  A  friend  whose  worth  deserves  as  warm  a  lay 
As  ever  friendship  penned," 
received   from   Cowper   "  four   quires  of   verse "   with   the   request  that   it 
might  be  read  by  him  and,  if  approved,  conveyed  to  Joseph  Johnson,  the 
publisher  of  Cowper's  first  volume. 

"If,  when  you  make  the  offer  of  my  book  'The  Task'  to  Johnson,  he 
should  stroke  his  chin,  and  look  up  at  the  ceiling  and  cry,  '  Humph !  an- 
tici]iate  him,  I  beseech  you,  at  once  by  saying  that  you  know  I  should 
be  sorry  that  he  should  undertake  for  me  to  his  own  disadvantage,  or  that 
my  volume  should  be  in  any  degree  pressed  upon  him.'  I  make  him  the 
offer  merely  because  I  think  he  would  have  reason  to  complain  of  me  if 
I  did  not.  But,  that  pimctilio  once  satisfied,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  me  what  publisher  sends  me  forth."     Johnson,  however,  accepted. 

The  book  appeared  in  June,  having  now  grown  into  a  volume  of  poems, 
containing,  as  the  title-page  shows,  four  works,  paged  continuously.  It 
cost  four  shillings,  in  boards.  The  volume  was  a  great  success,  and  two 
issues  were  made  in  the  same  year.  These  show  several  %'ariations,  but 
chiefly  in  the  arrangement  of  the  pages.  A  half-title,  found  in  some  copj- 
ies,  and  thought  to  belong  only  to  late  issues,  reads:  "Poems,  By  William 
Cowper,  Esq.,  Vol.  II."  Herein  we  may  possibly  see  Johnson's  afterthought 
to  make  the  book  a  second  volume  to  the  collection  of  "  Poems "  issued 
in  1782,  and  referred  to  in  the  advertisement  on  the  last  page:  "Lately 
published  by  the  same  Author,  in  one  volume  of  this  size.  Price  4s.  sewed." 
It  would  have  been  a  shrewd  plan  thus  to  make  the  successful  later  vol- 
ume carry  the  unsuccessful  earlier  one. 

Of  these  two  volumes  of  Poems,  the  second  is  the  more  famous,  as  it 
contains  [beginning  on  page  343]  "The  Diverting  History  of  John  Gil- 
pin." which  occupies  nine  leaves. 

There  was  some  discussion  between  the  poet  and  the  publisher  as  to  the 
propriety  of  putting  poems  so  different  in  character  into  the  same  volume. 
Johnson  at  first  advised  against  including  "  John  Gilpin,"  to  which  the 
poet  consented.  Of  this  Cowper  writes:  "Nothing  more  passed  between 
us  on  the  subject,  and  1  concluded  that  I  should  never  have  the  immortal 
honor  of  being  generally  known  as  the  author  of  'John  Gilpin.'  In  the 
last  packet,  however,  down  came  John,  very  fairly  printed,  and  equip])ed 
for  i)ublic  appearance.  The  business  having  taken  this  turn,  I  concluded 
that  Johnson  had  adopted  my  original  thought,  that  it  might  prove  ad- 
vantageous to  the  sale;  and  as  he  had  had  the  trouble  and  expense  of 
printing  it  I  corrected  the  copy  and  let  it  pass." 


41 


CHARLES  ROBERT  DARWIN 

(1809-1882) 

ON  THE  ORIGIN  OF  SPECIES.  [Four  lines.] 
By  Charles  Darwin,  JNI.A.  [Three  lines.]  London: 
John  Murray,  Albemarle  Street.  1859.  The  Right 
of  Translation  is  Reserv^ed. 

12mo,  full  dark  green  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  top  uncut, 
tooled  with  an  elaborate  design  representing  various  animals,  by 
Wood,  in  a  slip-case.  $27.00 

The  First  Edition.  The  first  rough  sketch  of  Darwin's  theory  of  the  idea 
of  natural  selection  was  written  out  in  thirty-five  pages  as  far  back  as 
1842.  In  1844  this  had  been  enlarged  to  a  fuller  sketch  of  230  pages  where 
his  theory  of  evolution  was  completely  given.  His  correspondence  of  this 
period  with  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  and  Dr.  Asa  Gray,  cover 
a  host  of  points  in  connection  with  his  experiments  with  seeds,  birds,  and 
the  lower  orders.  Finally,  at  the  urgent  advice  of  Lyell  he  determined  to 
write  out  the  results,  though  to  finish  the  book  at  all  was  almost  a  greater 
strain  than  he  could  bear.  However,  on  September  11,  1859,  he  corrected 
the  last  proof  sheet. 

Darwin's  views  on  the  success  of  his  book  are  worth  recording.  To  Mur- 
ray he  writes,  April  5,  1859:  "  It  may  be  conceit,  but  I  believe  the  subject 
will  interest  the  public,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  views  are  original.  If  you 
think  otherwise,  I  must  repeat  my  request  that  you  will  freely  reject  my 
work;  and  though  I  shall  be  a  little  disappointed,  I  shall  be  in  no  way 
injured."  And  again  to  .7.  D.  Hooker:  ".  .  .  Please  do  not  say  to  any  one 
that  I  thought  my  book  '  Species '  would  be  fairly  popular,  and  have 
a  fairly  remunerative  sale  (which  was  the  height  of  my  ambition),  for  if  it 
proves  a  dead  failure  it  would  make  me  the  more  ridiculous." 

The  first  edition,  a  "  child,"  Darwin  calls  it,  in  whose  appearance  he  takes 
infinite  pride  and  pleasure,  was  published   November  24th. 

"  It  is  no  doubt  the  chief  work  of  my  life.  It  was  from  the  first  highly 
successful.  The  first  small  edition  of  1,250  copies  was  sold  on  the  day  of 
publication,  and  a  second  edition  of  3,000  copies  soon  afterward.  Sixteen 
thousand  copies  have  now  (1876)  been  sold  in  England,  and,  considering 
how  stiflF  a  book  it  is,  this  is  a  large  sale.  It  has  been  translated  into 
almost  every  European  tongue,  even  into  such  languages  as  Spanish,  Bo- 
hemian, Polish,  and  Russian.  It  has  also,  according  to  Miss  Bird,  been 
translated  into  Japanese  [a  mistake],  and  is  there  much  studied.  Even  an 
essay  in  Hebrew  has  appeared  on  it,  showing  that  the  theory  is  contained  in 
the  Old  Testament!" 

The  second  edition  of  3,000  copies,  only  a  reprint,  yet  with  a  few  im- 
portant corrections,  was  issued  January  7,  1860.  An  edition  of  2,500  copies 
was  issued  in  the  United  States,  where  it  enjoyed  great  popularity.  "  I 
never  dreamed,"  said  he,  "  of  my  book  being  so  successful  with  general 
readers;  I  believe  I  should  have  laughed  at  the  idea  of  sending  the  sheets 
to  America." 

The  sum  of  £180  was  received  by  the  author  for  the  first  edition,  and 
£636.  13.  0  for  the  second. 

Darwin  is  described  as  tall  and  thin,  with  a  ruddy  face  and  blue-gray 
eyes  under  deep  overhanging  brows  and  bushy  eyebrows.  His  high  fore- 
head was  much  wrinkled,  but  in  other  respects  his  face  was  not  lined  or 
marked.     His  frame  was  naturally  strong  and  fitted  for  activity. 

42 


ALPHONSE   DAUDET 

(1840-1897) 

SAPHO,    MCEURS    PARISIENXES.      Paris: 

G.  Charpentier  et  Cie,  Editeurs,  13  rue  de  Grenelle,  13, 
1884.     Toils  droits  reserves. 

12mo^  half  cloth,  uncut,  with  original  paper  covers  preserved. 

$10.00 

The  First  Edition.  Alptionse  Daudet  was  born  May  13,  1840,  the  son 
of  a  man  whose  life  had  been  far  from  successful,  and  of  a  woman  of  a 
dreamy  and  melancholy  nature.  Their  home  was  at  Nunes,  where  children 
had  been  born  to  them,  of  whom  all  but  two  had  died. 

Daudet  has  written:  "My  childhood  at  home  M'as  a  lamentable  one.  I 
have  no  recollection  of  home  which  is  not  a  sorrowful  one — a  recollection 
of  tears  .  .  .  the  father  always  scolding,  the  mother  always  in  tears."  He 
had,  as  a  child,  an  overwhelming  passion  for  reading,  devouring  such  books 
as  "  Robinson  Crusoe "  and  the  "  Swiss  Family  Robinson,"  and  other 
more  or  less  exciting  stories  of  adventure.  With  his  brother  Ernest  he 
read  everything  that  came  to  hand — good  books  and  bad,  novels,  books  of 
science,  medical  treatises,  the  classics — hurriedly  and  at  whatever  odd  mo- 
ments they  could  be  together.  Much  of  this  reading  was  done  in  bed 
after  the  rest  of  the  family  were  asleep.  They  read  Shakespeare,  Ariosto, 
Lamartine,  and  Chateaubriand.  Daudet  knew  "  Robinson  Crusoe "  almost 
by  heart,  and  with  his  brother  used  to  act  it  out  as  far  as  their  resources 
would  permit.  He  also  read  Captain  Marryat's  "  Midshipman  Easy  "  and 
Cooper's  "  Pilot." 

At  sixteen  Alphonse  Daudet  went  out  into  the  world  to  earn  his  own 
living,  and  became  an  usher  at  a  school  for  boys.  This  was  almost  im- 
possible work  for  such  a  youth,  and  in  1857  he  went  to  Paris,  having  made 
up  his  mind  quite  definitely  to  get  his  living  by  literature.  He  was  mis- 
erably poor  and  suffered  greatly.  At  last  he  got  a  chance  on  the  Figaro, 
and  continued  to  contribute  to  it  for  some  years.  A  poem  of  his  was 
read  before  the  Empress  and  attracted  her  attention.  She  had  the  un- 
known author  sought  out,  and  a  government  place  was  found  for  him. 
He  was  then  twenty-one.  From  that  period  his  affairs  were  comparatively 
prosperous,  and  a  long  series  of  novels,  short  stories,  and  poems  began  to 
appear  and  to  make  him  famous.  Of  these  his  "  Sapho "  is  one  of  the 
best  known.  The  dedication,  "  To  my  sons  when  they  are  twenty,"  has 
increased  its   fame. 

Daudet's  writings  may  be  divided  into  two  groups,  those  written  before 
the  fascination  of  the  French  capital  had  laid  its  grasp  on  him,  and  the 
second  group  consisting  of  the  romances  essentially  Parisian  in  character 
or  scene.  In  the  first  are  to  be  found  "  Eettres  de  mon  Moulin,"  "Robert 
Helmont,"  "  Tartarin  de  Tarascon  " — the  best  modern  farcical  romance,  a 
combination  of  Don  Quixote  and  Baron  Munchausen,  and  most  of  his 
short  stories.  In  the  second  group  come  "  Sa])ho,"  "  Les  Rois  en  I'iXil," 
"  Numa  Roumestan."  "  Jack,"  and  most  of  his  longer  works,  romances 
glowing  with  the  brilliant  lighted  streets  of  Paris,  and  its  Salons.  I>acking 
the  intenscncss  and  simplicity  of  style  of  Maupassant,  the  clear  insight  into 
the  motives  of  his  characters  of  Balzac,  Daudet  possibly  surpasses  l)oth  in 
depicting  the  result  of  dazzling  corruscations  of  beauty  and  pleasure.  The 
footlights  of  his  stage  show  the  attractiveness  of  his  characters,  but  do 
not  always  j)oint  out  that  it  is  mostly  tinsel,  paint  and  feathers.  This  is 
left  ff)r  the  reader  to  infer.  From  this  point  of  view  his  novels  are  more 
readable  than  those  of  the  realists. 

43 


TH  E 

LIFE 

AND 

Strange  Surprizing 

ADVENTURES 

O  F 

ROBINSON  CRUSOE, 

Of  TORK,  Mariner: 

Who  lived  Eight  and  Twenty  Years, 
all  alone  on  an  un-inhabited  Ifland  on  the 
Coaft  of  America,  near  the  Mouth  of 
the  Great  River  of  Qroonoq.ue; 

Having  been  caft  on  Shore  by  Shipwreck,  where- 
in all  the  Men  periflied  but  himfelf. 

WITH 

An  Account  how  he  was  at  laft  as  flrangelv .  deli- 
vered by  P  Y  R  A  T  E  S. 


IVritten  by  Himfelf, 


LONDON: 

Printed  for  W.  T  a  y  l  o  r  at  the  Ship  in  Pater-Nofler- 
Row.    MDCCXIX. 


44 


DANIEL  DEFOE 

(1661-1731) 

THE  LIFE  AND  STRANGE  SURPRIZING 
ADVENTURES  OF  ROBINSON  CRUSOE  OF 
YORK,  MARINER.  [Nine  lines.]  Written  by  Him- 
self. London:  Printed  for  W.  Taylor,  at  the  Ship  in 
Pater-Noster-Row.    J^IDCCXIX. 

3  vols.,  12mo,  full  crushed  crimson  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the 
rough,  by  Riviere,  and  enclosed  in  a  pull-off  case.  $1,250.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing  the  misprint  on  the  second  page  of  the 
Preface,  where  the  word  "  Apjly  "  is  mispelled   for  "  Apply." 

The  story  is  told  of  how  Defoe's  manuscript  was  refused  by  many  of 
the  London  publishers  before  WiUiam  Taylor,  one  of  the  most  esteemed 
and  successful  of  them,  accepted  it.  The  book  came  out  April  25th,  and 
its  success  was  immediate;  a  second  edition  was  called  for  only  seventeen 
days  after  the  first;  a  third  followed  twenty-five  days  later,  and  a  fourth 
on  August  8th.  The  Farther  Adventures  of  Robinson  Crusoe;  Being 
the  Second  and  Last  Part  Of  His  Life.  ...  To  which  is  added  a  Map 
of  the  World  .  .  .  was  issued  in  August  of  the  same  year,  and  was  fol- 
lowed on  August  6,  1720,  by  a  sequel  called  Serious  Reflections  During 
The  Life  ...  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  Further  evidence  of  the  popularity 
of  the  work  is  furnished  by  the  piracies,  numerous  imitations,  and  transla- 
tions that  appeared  witiiin  a  short  time  after  its  publication. 

No  doubt  the  leading  facts  were  suggested  by  the  experiences  of  Alexan- 
der Selkirk,  whose  adventures  had  been  published  in  1712  by  Capteiin 
Rogers  in  his  "  Cruising  Voyage  Round  the  World,"  but  it  was  only  the 
outline  thus  made  use  of,  and  the  wonderful  detail  and  descriptions  were 
entirely  original. 

Defoe  sold  aU  his  property  in  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  to  Taylor,  who  gained 
a  very  large  fortune  by  it  and  its  successors.  When  that  worthy  man  died, 
only  five  years  after  the  publication  of  the  book,  he  was  reputed  to  be 
worth  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand  pounds.  He  added  an  introduc- 
tion to  "The  Serious  Reflections,"  in  which  he  says: 

"  The  success  the  two  former  Parts  have  met  with  has  been  known  by 
the  Envy  it  has  brought  upon  the  Editor,  express'd  in  a  thousand  hard 
Words  from  the  Men  of  Trade ;  the  Effect  of  that  Regret  which  they  enter- 
tain'd  at  their  having  no  Share  in  it:  And  I  must  do  the  Author  the  Jus- 
tice to  say  that  not  a  Dog  has  wag'd  his  Tongue  at  the  Work  itself,  nor 
has  a  Word  been  said  to  lessen  the  Value  of  it,  but  which  has  been  the 
visible  Effect  of  that  En\y  at  the  good  Fortune  of  the  Bookseller." 

A  guarantee  of  this  good  fortune  may  be  seen  in  the  later  imprint  of 
the  book  which  read :  "  At  the  Ship  and  Black-Swan  in  Paternoster  Row," 
that  last-named  property  having  been  purchased  out  of  the  proceeds  of  its 
sale. 

Charles  Lamb  wrote  to  Walter  Wilson,  the  biographer  of  Defoe,  and 
Lamb's  fellow  clerk  at  the  India  House:  "  In  the  appearance  of  truth,  in 
all  the  incidents  and  conversations  that  occur  in  them,  they  exceed  any 
works  of  fiction  I  am  acquainted  with.  It  is  perfect  illusion.  The  Author 
never  appears  in  these  self-narratives  (for  so  they  ought  to  be  called,  or 
rather  Autobiographies),  but  the  Narrator  chains  us  down  to  an  implicit 
belief  in  everything  he  says. 

It  was  Dr.  Johnson  who  said  to  Mrs.  Thrale:  "Was  there  ever  anything 
written  by  mere  man  that  was  wished  longer  by  its  readers,  excepting 
'  Don  Quixote,'  '  Robinson  Crusoe,'  and  the  '  Pilgrim's  Progress  '  ?  " 

45 


THOMAS  DE   QUINCEY 

(1785-1859) 

CONFESSIONS  OF  AN  ENGLISH  OPIUM- 
EATER.  London:  Printed  for  Taylor  &  Hessey, 
Fleet  Street,  1822. 

12mo,  original  boards,  uncut,  with  paper  label,  and  four  pages  of 
advertisements.     In  a  morocco  solander  case.  $75.00 

The  First  Edition.  These  papers  first  appeared  in  the  London  Magazine 
for  October  and  November,  1821,  at  which  time  some  of  the  finest  of 
Charles  Lamb's  essays  were  coming  out  in  the  same  magazine.  The  num- 
bers were  speedily  exhausted,  and  a  reprint  was  publishd  in  1822  and  a 
second  edition  in  1823.  The  book  aroused  a  tremendous  amount  of  interest. 
Everywhere  people  were  talking  about  the  "  Opium-Eater,"  and  whether 
there  could  be  any  truth  in  the  story.  Much  pressure  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  editor  and  publishers  of  the  magazine  for  further  contributions 
and  for  proofs  of  the  genuineness  of  the  revelations.  De  Quincey's  reply 
to  his  critics  was  that  "  the  entire  '  Confessions  '  were  designed  to  convey  a 
narrative  of  my  own  experience  as  an  opium  eater,  drawn  up  with  entire 
simplicit}^  and  fidelity  to  the  facts,  from  which  they  can  in  no  respect 
have  deviated  except  by  such  trifling  inaccuracies  of  date,  etc.,  etc.,  as  the 
memoranda  I  have  with  me  in  London  would  not  in  all  cases  enable  me  to 
reduce  to  certainty." 

The  entire  story  of  his  craving  for  opium  has  been  told  in  the  "  Confes- 
sions," at  least  in  the  original  form,  for  later  in  life  he  tried  to  soften  some 
of  the  passages  in  the  book. 

De  Quincey  first  "  tampered  with  ojjium  "  to  relieve  neuralgic  pains  while 
he  was  still  at  Oxford — before  he  met  his  fellow-suiTerer  Coleridge. 

In  1809  De  Quincey  had  become  so  fond  of  the  latter  that  he  settled 
in  his  picturesque  cottage  at  Townsend,  previously  occupied  by  Wordsworth 
and  afterwards  by  Hartley  Coleridge.  De  Quincey  filled  the  house  with  so 
many  books,  that  Colei-idge,  who  was  then  living  with  Wordsworth,  had 
sometimes  500  volumes  from  it  at  once,  all  of  which  he  is  said  "  to  have 
scrupulously  returned." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  publication  of  the  "  Confessions "  is 
probably  due  to  Charles  Lamb,  who  first  met  De  Quincey  in  1804, 
and  who  introduced  him  to  the  London  2Ia(/azinc  in  1831.  They 
kept  uj)  a  friendly  intercourse  for  many  years,  and  one  of  our  best  pictures 
of  Lamb  is  found  in  De  Quincey's  "  London  Reminiscences."  Early  in 
1822,  just  after  the  "Confessions  of  an  English  Opium-Eater,"  had  ap- 
peared. Lamb  grew  tired  of  his  contributions  to  the  London  Magazine, 
which  for  two  years  he  had  written  constantly:  "  If  I  could  slip  out  of  it 
I  should  l)e  happy,  but  our  chief  reputed  assistants  have  forsaken  us.  The 
opium  eater  crossed  us  once  with  a  dazzling  path,  and  hath  as  suddenly 
left  us  darkling;  and  in  short  I  shall  go  on  from  dull  to  worse,  because  I 
cannot  resist  the  Booksellers  importimity — the  old  plea  you  know  of 
authors,  but  I  believe  on  my  part  sincere." 

When  De  Quincey  wrote  the  "  Confessions "  in  1822  the  opium  habit 
was  of  more  than  ten  years'  standing.  He  made  several  efforts  to  conquer 
it,  and  at  one  time  reduced  the  310  grains  which  he  took  daily  to 
40  grains.  An  attachment  formed  at  Grasmere  to  a  Miss  Margaret  Simp- 
son was  the  motive  for  his  reform.  The  habit  soon  mastered  him  again, 
and  he  became  the  victim  of  curious  dreams,  one  of  which  was  that  he 
thought  himself  haunted  by  a  tremendous  crocodile,  and  a  certain  Malay 
long  continued  to  torment  him. 

46 


CHARLES  DICKENS 

(1812-1870) 

THE  PERSONAL  HISTORY  OF  DAVID 
COPPERFIELD.  By  Charles  Dickens.  With  Il- 
lustrations by  H.  K.  Browne.  London:  Bradbury  & 
Evans,  11  Bouverie-Street,  1850. 

8vo,  full  crimson  morocco,  gilt  edges.  $350.00 

The    First    Edition,    Presentation    copy   with   the    following    inscription: 

"  W.  C.  Macready,   From  his  affectionate  friend,  Charles  Dickens.     Third 
December,  1850." 

Late  in  1848  and  early  in  1849  Dickens  began  to  think  about  his  new 
novel,  which  became  "  David  Copperfield."  Yarmouth  he  visited  for  the 
first  time  toward  the  close  of  1848,  and  he  then  determined  to  make  some 
use  of  it  in  his  future  work.  As  usual  there  were  many  deliberations  and 
discussions  over  the  title.  "  Mag's  Diversions "  was  suggested  and  dis- 
carded ;  "  The  Copperfield  Survey "  was  another ;  "  The  Last  Will  and 
Testament  of  David  Copperfield,"  and  in  April  he  finally  decided  upon 
"  David  Copperfield."  The  story  began  to  appear  the  first  of  May,  and 
once  fairly  at  work  it  bore  him  along  almost  irresistibly. 

It  was  written  at  Dickens's  house  in  Devonshire  Terrace  for  the  most 
part  between  the  opening  of  1849  and  October,  1850,  and  published  by 
Bradbury  and  Evans  in  twenty  monthly  parts,  at  one  shilling  each.  The 
last  two  numbers  were  issued  together  in  one  wrapper.  In  the  first  edition 
the  illustrated  title-page  bears  date  1850,  which  was  omitted  from  later 
editions  of  the  same  year.  The  circulation  in  parts  was  about  twenty-five 
thousand.  The  complete  story  was  published  as  a  guinea  volume  in  No- 
vember, 1850,  with  a  preface  dated  London,  October,  1850.  Of  the  story 
Thackeray  said:  "How  beautiful  it  is — how  charmingly  fresh  and  simple! 
In  those  admirable  touches  of  tender  humour,  a  mixture  of  love  and  wit, 
who    can    equal    this    great    genius  ? " 

Thackeray's  daughter,  now  Lady  Ritchie,  tells  of  its  effect  on  her  as 
a  child:  "I  can  remember  when  'David  Copperfield'  came  out,  hearing 
him  [Thackeray]  say  with  emphasis  to  my  grandmother  that  'little  Em'ly's 
letter  to  old  Peggotty  was  a  masterpiece.'  I  wondered  to  hear  him  at  the 
time,  for  that  was  not  at  all  the  part  I  cared  for  most,  nor  indeed  could  I 
imagine  how  little  Em'ly  was  so  stupid  as  to  run  away  from  Peggotty's 
enchanted  house-boat.  But  we  each  and  all  enjoyed  in  turn  our  share  of 
those  thin  green  books  full  of  delicious  things,  and  how  glad  we  were  when 
they  came  to  our  hands  at  last,  after  our  elders  and  our  governess  and 
our  l)utler  had  ail   read  them   in   turn." 

Matthew  Arnold  said  of  it:  "What  a  pleasure  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
praising  a  work  so  sound,  a  work  so  rich  in  merits  as  '  David  Copper- 
field.'  .  .  .  To  contemporary  work  so  good  as  '  David  Copperfield  '  we  are 
in  danger  of  perhaps  not  paying  respect  enough,  of  reading  it  (for  who 
could  help  reading  it?)  too  hastily,  and  then  putting  it  aside  for  something 
else  and  forgetting  it.  What  treasures  of  gaiety,  invention,  life  are  in 
that  book!  What  alertness  and  resource!  What  a  soul  of  good  nature 
and   kindness   governing  the   whole." 

47 


POEMS. 


"Bj  ].  D. 


ELEGIES 

ON  THE  AUTHORS 

DEATH. 


LONDON. 

Printed  by  ]M)E  for  Iohm  Marriot^ 
and  are  to  be  fold  at  his  (hop  in  StDmJlam 

Church-vard  in  Fketjireeh   i  ^  3  5» 


48 


JOHN  DONNE 

(1573-1631) 

POEMS  BY  J.  D.  WITH  ELEGIES  ON  THE 
AUTHORS  DEATH.  London.  Printed  by  M.  F. 
for  John  ^larriot,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  shop  in  St. 
Diinstans  Church -yard  in  Fleet-street.     1633. 

Small  4to,  full  contemporary  calf,  with  modern  label.         $60.00 

This  copy  contains  Juvenilia,  London,  1633,  which  is  often  wanting. 
An  entry  in  the  Registers  of  the  Stationers'  Company  shows  the  book  to 
have  been  regularly  licensed,  though  somewhat  delayed'  owing  to  the  doubts 
of  the  censor  concerning  the  satires  and  certain  of  the  elegies. 

"13  Septembris,  1632. 
"  John  Marriott.  Entred  for  his  copy  under  the  handes  of  Sir  Henry 
Herbert  and  both  the  wardens  a  booke  of  verses  and  poems  (the  five 
satires,  the  first,  second,  tenth,  eleaventh,  and  thirteenth  elegies  being 
excepted)  and  tbese  before  excepted  to  be  his,  when  he  bringes  lawfull 
authority  .  .  .  vjd. 

"Written   by  Doctor  John  Dunn." 

In  1637,  after  two  editions  had  been  published,  the  poet's  son,  who  had 
a  somewhat  unsavory  reputation,  addressed  a  petition  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  stating  that  it  had  been  put  forth  "  withoute  anie  leaue 
or  authoritie,"  and,  as  a  result,  the  Archbishop  issued  the  following  order, 
December   16,   1637. 

"  I  require  ye  Parties  whom  this  Petition  concernes  not  to  meddle  any 
farther  with  ye  Printing  or  Selling  of  any  ye  pretended  workes  of  ye 
late  Deane  of  St.  Paules,  saue  onely  such  as  shall  be  licensed  by  publike 
authority,  and  approued  by  the  Petitioner,  as  they  will  answere  ye  contrary 
to  theyr  perill.     And  this  I  desire  Mr.  Deane  of  ye  Arches  to  take  care." 

In  view  of  this  discussion,  Marriott's  note  in  "  The  Printer  to  the 
Understanders,"  which  is  not  found  in  all  copies,  and  which,  since  it  is 
printed  on  two  extra  leaves,  was  evidently  an  afterthought  for  late  issues, 
takes  on  an  added  interest. 

The  younger  Donne's  petition  is  supported  by  the  appearance  of  the 
book  itself,  which  was  edited  in  a  very  careless  fashion,  without  any 
attempt  at  order  or  relation.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  as  Mr.  Edmund 
Gosse  has  pointed  out,  Marriott  and  his  edition  really  do  seem  to  have 
had  the  support  of  the  best  men  among  Donne's  disciples  and  friends: 
King,  Hyde,  Thomas  Browne,  Richard  Corbet,  Henry  Valentine,  Izaak 
Walton,  Thomas  Carew,  Jasper  Mayne,  Richard  Brathwaite,  and  Endymion 
Porter,  all  of  whom,  beside  several  others,  combined  to  write  the  elegies 
mentioned  on  the  title-page. 

The  printer,  "  M.  F.,"  was  Miles  Flesher,  or  Fletcher,  successor  to 
George  IJd.  He  also  printed  for  Marriott  the  second  edition  of  1635  in 
octavo,  and  the  third  of  1639,  which,  in  the  matter  of  contents,  is  prac- 
tically the  same  as  the  second. 

A  charming  story  is  told  of  Donne's  runaway  match.  When  not  much 
more  than  twenty  he  fell  in  love  with  Anne  More,  niece  of  Lady  Ellesmere, 
and  her  father  not  a})proving  a  secret  marriage  was  affected.  Donne  was 
at  the  time  secretary  to  Lord  Ellesmere,  who  when  he  learned  of  the 
marriage,  dismissed  him.  Donne's  apparent  ruin  failed  to  prevent  him 
from  making  a  play  on  words,  for  in  writing  the  sad  news  to  his  wife  he 
added  to  his  signature  the  line:  "John  Donne,  Anne  Donne,  Un-done." 

49 


ABSALOM 

AND 

ACHITOPHEL 


POEM. 


Si  Propitt  flet 

TV  Cafiet  Magit 


LONDON, 

Printed  for  J.  T.  and  are  to  be  Sold  by  W>  Davis  in 
Amen-Corner,  i  68  I. 


50 


JOHN  DRYDEN 

(1631-1700) 

ABSALOM  AND  ACHITOPHEL.  A  Poem. 
Si  Propius  stes  Te  Capiet  JNlagis.  London:  Printed 
for  J.  T.  and  are  to  be  sold  by  W.  Davis  in  Amen- 
Corner.     1681. 

Folio,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough  by  Riviere 
&  Son.  *     $85.00 

The  First  Edition.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  here  typified  as  Achitophel 
for  his  share  in  the  tonspiracy  to  place  the  young  Duke  of  Monmouth 
[Absalom,]  on  the  throne,  was  committed  to  the  Tower  in  July,  1G81 ;  and 
this  satire  appeared  in  November,  just  before  the  Grand  Jury  acquitted 
him.  Notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  work,  its  success  was  unprece- 
dented. It  was  undertaken  at  the  desire  of  Charles  II,  in  1680,  and  Dry- 
den  was  at  work  on  it  for  about  nine  months.  The  first  edition  was  sold 
in  a  month,  a  second  appeared  in  December  of  the  same  year,  1681.  Two  or 
three  editions  came  out  the  next  year,  and  a  sixth  in  1684.  It  has  been 
translated  into  Latin  verse.  We  are  told  that  Samuel  Johnson's  father,  a 
bookseller  of  Lichfield,  said  that  he  could  not  remember  a  sale  of  equal 
rapidity,  except  that  of  the  reports  of  the  Sacheverell  trial. 

Dryden's  name  does  not  appear  in  the  book;  nor  yet  in  the  second 
edition,  to  which  Tonson  added  two  unsigned  jjoems  "  To  the  unknown 
author." 

Jacob  Tonson,  the  publisher  of  the  work,  was  one  of  the  notable  figures 
in  the  annals  of  book-publishing  in  England,  and  his  name  is  inseparably 
connected  with  some  of  the  most  important  literary  ventures  of  the  period — 
Milton,  Addison,  Steele,  Congreve,  but  above  all  with  those  of  Dryden. 
Basil  Kennett  wrote  in  1696:  "'Twill  be  as  impossible  to  think  of  Virgil 
without  Mr.  Dryden,  as  of  either  without  Mr.  Tonson."  He  was  so  poor 
when  he  began  business  that  he  is  said  to  have  borrowed  the  twenty  pounds 
necessary  to  the  purchase  of  the  first  play  of  Dryden's  that  he  published, 
but  he  died  in  affluent  circumstances,  having  fully  earned  the  title  of 
"  prince  of  booksellers."  He  was  the  founder  of  the  famous  Kit-Kat 
Club,  and  in  spite  of  Dryden's  ill-tempered  lines, 

"  With  leering  looks,  bull-faced  and  freckled  fair, 
With  two  left  legs,  with  Judas-coloured  hair. 
And  frowsy  pores  that  taint  the  ambient  air," 

he  was  not  unliked  by  his  clients  and  friends. 

Addison  says  in  the  Spectator:  "The  natural  pride  and  ambition  of 
the  soul  is  very  much  gratified  in  the  reading  of  a  fable;  for,  in  writings 
of  this  kind  the  reader  comes  in  for  half  of  the  performance;  everything 
appears  to  him  like  a  discovery  of  his  own.  .  .  .  For  this  reason  the  '  Ab- 
salom and  Achitophel '  was  one  of  the  most  popular  ])oems  that  ever  ap- 
peared in  lOngland." 

Samuel  Derrick  wrote  in  1760:  "This  })oem  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
most  perfect  allegorical  pieces  that  our  langnage  has  produced.  Tlie  veil  is 
nowhere  laid  aside.  There  is  a  just  similarity  in  the  characters,  which  are 
exactly  jjortrayed;  the  lineaments  are  well  cojjicd;  the  colouring  is  lively; 
the  groujiings  show  the  hand  of  a  master,  and  may  serve  to  convince  us 
that  Mr.  Dryden  knew  his  own  power,  when  he  asserted,  that  he  found  it 
easier  to  write  severely  than   genth'." 

51 


DENIS  DIDEROT 

(1713-1784) 

JACQUES  LE  FATALISTE  ET  SON 
MAITRE.  Par  Diderot.  Tome  Premier.  A  Paris, 
chez  Buisson.  Imprimeur-Libraire,  rue  Haute-Feuille, 
No.  20.     Au  Cinquieme  de  la  Republique.     [1797.] 

2  vols.,  12mo,  half  cloth,  $25.00 

The  First  Edition.  In  1762  Laurence  Sterne  visited  Paris,  and  found 
that  "  Tristram  Shandy  "  was  almost  as  well  known  there  as  in  England. 
He  found  himself  invited  everywhere,  and  at  one  of  these  entertainments 
he  met  Diderot.  In  1768  the  "  Sentimental  Journey "  appeared,  and  was 
welcomed  in  Paris  as  heartily  as  in  London.  It  was  exactly  the  sort  of  book 
to  catch  the  popular  fancy  in  France,  and  it  at  once  brought  forth  many 
imitations.  Of  these  the  only  one  now  known  is  Diderot's  "  Jacques  le 
Fataliste."  It  was  written  about  1772,  at  which  time  the  author  was 
making  preparations   for  a  tour  to  Holland   and  Russia. 

It  apparently  circulated  in  manuscript  form,  and  the  first  fragment  was 
printed  in  1785,  the  translation  having  been  made  by  Schiller.  It  was  in 
Germany  that  the  first  complete  version  of  the  whole  of  "  Jacques "  ap- 
peared in  1793.  Four  years  later  the  French  obtained  possession  of  an 
original  transcript.  Goethe  wrote  in  1780:  "There  is  going  about  here 
a  MS.  of  Diderot's  called  '  Jacques  le  Fataliste  et  son  Maitre,'  and  it  is 
really  first-rate — a  very  fine  and  exquisite  meal,  prepared  and  dished  up 
with  great  skill,  as  if  for  the  palate  of  some  singular  idol.  I  set  myself 
in  the  place  of  this  Bel,  and  in  six  uninterrupted  hours  swallowed  all  the 
courses  in  the  order,  and  according  to  the  intentions,  of  this  excellent  cook 
and  maitre  d'hotel."  Its  great  appeal  to  men  like  Goethe  and  Schiller  was 
because  of  its  lightness  of  touch  as  compared  with  the  heavy  formalism 
of  the  German  literature  of  their  generation.  Sainte-Beuve  spoke  of 
Diderot  as   "  the  most  German  head   in   France." 

"  Jacques  le  Fataliste  "  contains  among  its  stories  that  of  the  "  Histoire 
de  Mme.  de  la  Pommeraye,"  as  told  by  the  mistress  of  the  inn.  This  has 
always  been  considered  Diderot's  most  perfect  and  most  characteristic  effort 
as  a  story-teller.  Even  in  his  novels  it  is  the  directness  and  the  veracity  of 
his  scientific  spirit  united  to  his  emotional  nature  which  gives  significance  to 
his  work.  He  wrote  what  he  found  to  write  and  left  the  piece,  as  Carlyle 
said,  "  on  the  waste  of  accident  with  an  ostrich-like  indifference."  It  is 
said  that  he  was  himself  conscious  of  the  want  of  literary  merit  in  his 
work,  and  when  he  heard  that  a  collected  edition  of  his  works  was  in  the 
press  at  Amsterdam,  greeted  the  news  with  "  peals  of  laughter,"  so  well 
did  he  know  the  haste  with  which  those  works  had  been  dashed  off.  All 
accounts  agree  that  he  was  seen  at  his  best  in  conversation.  "  He  who  only 
knows  Diderot  in  his  writings,"  says  Marmontel,  "  does  not  know  him  at 
all.  When  he  grew  animated  in  talk,  and  allowed  his  thoughts  to  flow  in 
all  their  abundance,  then  he  became  truly  ravishing." 

The  times  were  skeptical  when  "  Jacques  le  Fataliste "  was  written. 
Voltaire  had  paved  the  way,  and  Rousseau,  d'Alembert,  Mirabeau  and 
Diderot  completed  the  task.  It  was  not  so  much  perhaps  a  real  relief  in 
the  deistical  or  skeptical  doctrines  of  those  philosophers,  as  the  love  of 
change  and  protest  against  the  regime  of  Cardinals  and  Kings.  The  cul- 
mination was  the  public  worship  of  the  "  Goddess  of  Reason."  Whether 
Diderot  absolutely  believed  all  he  wrote  is  a  question;  perhaps  there  is 
much  more  of  satire  than  belief  in  his  writings. 

52 


GEORGE  ELIOT 

MARY   ANN    OR    I^IARIAN    CROSS 

(1819-1880) 

ADAM  BEDE.  By  George  Eliot,  Author  of 
"  Scenes  of  Clerical  Life."  [Quotation.]  In  Three 
Volumes.  Vol.  I.  William  Blackwood  &  Sons,  Edin- 
burgh and  London.  :MDCCCLIX.  The  Right  of 
Translation  is  reserved. 

3  vols.,  12mo,  original  cloth,  uncut.  $25.00 

The  First  Edition.  "The  first  volume  of  ['Adam  Bede']  says  George 
Eliot  "  was  written  at  Richmond,  and  given  to  Blackwood  in  March.  He 
expressed  great  admiration  of  its  freshness  and  vividness,  but  seemed  to 
hesitate  about  putting  it  in  the  Magazine,  which  was  the  form  of  publication 
he,  as  well  as  myself,  had  previously  contemplated.  He  still  wished  to 
have  it  for  the  Magazine,  but  desired  to  know  the  course  of  the  story.  At 
present  he  saw  nothing  to  prevent  its  reception  in  '  Maga,'  but  he  would 
like  to  see  more.  I  am  uncertain  whether  his  doubts  rested  solely  on 
Hetty's  relation  to  Arthur,  or  whether  they  were  also  directed  towards  the 
treatment  of  Methodism  by  the  Church.  I  refused  to  tell  my  story  before- 
hand, on  the  ground  that  I  would  not  have  it  j  udged  apart  from  my  treat- 
ment, which  alone  determines  the  moral  quality  of  art;  and  ultimately  I 
proposed  that  the  notion  of  publication  in  '  Maga '  should  be  given  up,  and 
that  the  novel  should  be  published  in  three  volumes  at  Christmas,  if  pos- 
sible.    He  assented." 

"...  When,  on  October  29th,  I  had  written  to  the  end  of  the  love- 
scene  at  the  Farm  between  Adam  and  Dinah,  I  sent  the  MS.  to  Black- 
wood, since  the  remainder  of  the  third  volume  coidd  not  affect  the  judgment 
passed  on  what  had  gone  before.  He  wrote  back  in  warm  admiration,  and 
offered  me,  on  the  part  of  the  firm,  £800  for  four  years'  copyright.  I 
accepted  the  offer.  .  .  .  The  book  would  have  been  published  at  Christmas, 
or  rather  early  in  December,  but  that  Bulwer's  'What  will  he  do  with  it?' 
was  to  be  published  by  Blackwood  at  that  time,  and  it  was  thought  that 
this  novel  might  interfere  with  mine." 

The  book  was  published  the  first  day  of  January,  with  the  still  unpene- 
trated  pseudonym  on  the  title-page  at  a  cost  of  thirty-one  shillings  and  six 
pence.  The  advance  subscriptions  amounted  to  730  copies,  and  the  follow- 
ing note,  written  March  16th,  gives  the  history  of  its  success: 

"  Blackwood  writes  to  say  I  am  '  a  popular  author  as  well  as  a  great 
author.'  They  printed  2,090  of  '  Adam  Bede '  and  have  disposed  of  more 
than  1,800,  so  that  they  are  thinking  of  a  second  edition." 

In  May  Blackwood  proposed  to  add,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  £400  to  the 
£800  originally  given  for  the  copyright.  A  fourth  edition  of  5,000  copies 
was  issued  in  1859,  all  of  which  "were  sold  in  a  fortnight;  a  seventh  was 
printed  the  same  year,  and  in  October  Blackwood  felt  justified  in  i)ro- 
posing  to  pay  £800  more  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  year.  The  sale 
amounted  to   16,000  copies  in  one  year. 

A  claim  to  the  authorship  was  set  up  by  a  Mr.  Liggins,  which  is  said 
to  have  caused  George   Eliot  a  needless  amount  of  irritation. 

68 


RALPH   WALDO  EMERSON 

(1803-1882) 

NATURE.     [Quotation.]     Boston:  James  Munroe 
and  Company.     MDCCCXXXVI. 

l6mo^  original  black  cloth.  $22.50 

The  First  Edition,  issued  anonymously.  Emerson  writes  to  iiis  brother 
William,  imder  date  of  Jime  28,  1836:  "My  little  book  is  nearly  done. 
Its  title  is  '  Nature.'  Its  contents  will  not  exceed  in  bulk  Sampson  Reed's 
'  Growth  of  the  Mind.'  My  design  is  to  follow  it  by  another  essay,  '  Spirit,' 
and  the  two  shall  make  a  decent  volume." 

August  8th:  "The  book  of  'Nature'  still  lies  on  the  table.  There  is, 
as  always,  one  crack  in  it,  not  easy  to  be  soldered  or  welded;  but  if  this 
week  I  should  be  left  alone  I  may  finish  it." 

The  proofs  passed  through  his  hands  during  the  latter  part  of  August, 
and  it  was  published  in  September.  It  did  not  attract  very  much  atten- 
tion at  first.  Only  a  few  hundred  copies  were  sold,  and  an  interval  of 
twelve  years  occurred  before  a  second  edition  was  called  for.  The  Chris- 
tian Examiner,  the  organ  of  the  Unitarians,  spoke  of  it  as  "  a  poetical 
rhapsody,  containing  much  beautiful  writing  and  not  devoid  of  sound 
philosophy,  but,  on  the  whole,  producing  the  impression  of  a  disordered 
dream."     It  was  also  spoken  of  as  "  a  prose  poem  from  beginning  to  end." 

Under  date  of  September  12,  1836,  Bronson  Alcott  wrote  to  a  friend: 
"Have  you  seen  Mr.  Emerson's  'Nature'?  If  you  have  not  let  me  send 
you  a  copy.  It  is  just  to  your  taste.  ...  It  reminds  me  more  of  Samp- 
son Reed's  '  Growth  of  the  Mind '  than  any  work  of  modern  date.  But  it 
is  unlike  any  other  work." 

Tyndall  said  of  it:  "  WeU,  the  first  time  I  ever  knew  Waldo  Emerson 
was  when,  years  ago,  a  young  man,  I  picked  up  on  a  stall  a  copy  of  his 
*  Nature.'  I  read  it  with  much  delight,  and  I  have  never  ceased  to  read 
it;  and  if  any  one  can  be  said  to  have  given  the  impulse  to  my  mind,  it  is 
Emerson.     Whatever  I   have  done,  the  world  owes   to  him." 

Emerson's  career  as  a  literary  man  began  with  the  publication  of  "  Na- 
ture." He  wrote  it  after  his  return  from  Europe  while  staying  with  Dr. 
Ripley  in  the  "  Old  Manse  "  in  Concord — wrote  it  in  the  very  room  of  the 
old  house  in  which  Hawthorne  afterward  wrote  his  "  Mosses  from  an  Old 
Manse,"  and  published  it  anonjonously  in  Boston.  In  the  same  year  he 
edited  the  early  sheets  of  Carlyle's  "  Sartor  Resartus,"  and  in  1838  three 
volumes  of  his  Essays,  aU  of  which  appeared  in  book  form  in  this  coun- 
try before  they  did  in  England,  and  incidentally  added  much  to  Carlyle's 
fame,  as  well  as  his  income.  In  the  same  way  "  Nature  "  met  with  con- 
siderable appreciation  in  England,  while  in  the  United  States  it  took  twelve 
years  to  sell  five  hundred  copies.  Emerson  was  called  a  transcendentalist,  a 
revolutionary,  a  fool  who  did  not  know  his  own  meaning.  John  Quincy 
Adams  wrote  of  him  in  1840:  "After  failing  in  the  everyday  vocations  of 
a  Unitarian  preacher  and  schoolmaster,  he  starts  a  new  doctrine  of  tran- 
scendentalism, declares  aU  the  old  revelations  superannuated  and  worn  out, 
and  announces  the  approach  of  new  revelations."  After  many  years  the 
world  finally  decided  that  it  was  not  Emerson's  mission  to  do  practical 
work  for  reforms,  but  to  supply  impulses  and  a  high  inspiration  to  the 
workers. 

Emerson  was  tall  and  slender,  not  of  robust  physique,  rather  sallow  in 
the  face,  with  an  aquiline  nose,  brown  hair  and  eyes  of  the  '  strongest  and 
brightest  blue.'  His  appearance  was  majestic.  He  was  calm,  kindly  in 
expression,  frequently  smiled,  but  seldom  laughed. 

54 


HENRY  FIELDING 

(1707-1754) 

THE  HISTORY  OF  TOM  JONES,  A  FOUND- 
LIXG.  In  Six  Volmnes.  By  Heniy  Fielding,  Esq. 
[Quotation.]  London:  Printed  for  A.  Millar,  over- 
against  Catharine  Street,  in  the  Strand.  MDCCXLIX. 

6  vols.,  18mo,  full  mottled  calf,  sprinkled  edges.  $60.00 

The  First  Edition.  The  announcement  of  the  appearance  of  the  work 
in  the  General  Advertiser  for  February  28,  1749,  reads  as  follows: 

"  This  day  is  published,  in  six  vols.,  12mo,  '  The  History  of  Tom  Jones, 
A  Foundling.' — Slores  hominum  multorum  vidit.     By  Henry  Fielding,  Esq. 

"  It  being  impossible  to  get  sets  bound  fast  enough  to  answer  the  de- 
mand for  them,  such  Gentlemen  and  Ladies  as  please  may  have  them 
served  in  Blue  Paper  and  Boards,  at  the  price  of  16s.  a  set,  of  A.  Millar, 
over-against  Catharine  Street,  in  the  Strand." 

The  sale  was  really  enormous  for  those  days,  and  Millar,  the  successful 
publisher,  could  afford  to  be  generous  to  Fielding,  as  he  had  been  to 
others,  thus  winning  for  himself  the  position  of  a  patron  as  well  as  pub- 
lisher. Johnson  called  him  "  the  Maecenas  of  literature."  "  I  respect 
Millar,  sir,"  said  he,  "  he  has  raised  the  price  of  literature." 

Horace  Walpole  gives  us  an  account  of  the  dealings  of  this  remarkable 
man  in  this  case.  He  says,  in  a  letter  to  George  Montagu:  "Millar,  the 
bookseller,  has  done  very  generously  by  him  [Fielding] ;  finding  '  Tom 
Jones'  for  which  he  gave  him  £600,  sells  so  greatly,  he  has  since  given 
him  another  £100."  The  story  is  often  repeated  that  Fielding  gave  a  sum 
borrowed  from  Millar,  which  was  intended  to  pay  his  taxes,  to  a  poorer 
friend,  and  when  the  tax-collector  called  made  his  famous  reply :  "  Friend- 
ship has  called  for  the  monej^;  let  the  collector  call  again." 

A  second  edition  in  four  volumes  was  issued  the  same  year,  and  a 
third,  also  in  four  volumes,  the  year  following.  The  book  has  been  trans- 
lated into  French,  German,  Spanish,  Dutch,  Russian,  and  Swedish. 
It  was  frequently  dramatized,  and  was  also  turned  into  a  comic  opera  by 
Joseph  Reed  and  performed  at  Covent  Garden. 

In  1770,  thirteen  booksellers  prosecuted  Alexander  Donaldson  for  print- 
ing "  Tom  Jones "  and  "  Joseph  Andrews "  without  permission,  which 
shows  that  its  value  had  not  decreased  with  successive  editions,  or  else  the 
various  partners,  whose  well-known  names  are  signed  to  it,  would  not  have 
thought  it  worth  their  while  to  prosecute. 

In  December,  1848,  Fielding  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Pence  for 
Westminster.  The  appointment  was  due  to  his  old  schoolfellow  Lyttelton, 
who  had  introduced  him  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  (see  the  dedication  of 
"  Tom  Jones  "). 

In  this  dedication  Fielding  says  that  he  "  ])artly  owes  his  existence  to 
Lyttelton  during  his  composition  of  the  hook,  and  that  it  would  never 
have  been  completed  without  his  helj).  The  Duke  of  Bedford's  "  princely 
instance  of  generosity  "  is  also  acknowledged  in  the  dedication.  Another 
of  Fielding's  patrons  was  Ral])h  Allen,  to  whom  there  is  a  reference  in 
"Joseph  Andrews."  "Tom  Jones"  is  said  to  have  been  written  at  Twer- 
ton-on-Avon,  near  Bath,  where  there  is  still  a  house  called  "  Fielding's 
house." 

55 


EDWARD   FITZGERALD 

(1809-1883) 

RUBAIYAT  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM,  THE 
ASTRONOTlIER-POET  OF  PERSIA.  Translated 
into  English  Verse.  London:  Bernard  Quaritch,  Castle 
Street,  Leicester  Square.     1859. 

4to,  in  the  original  paper  wrappers.  $350.00 

The  First  Edition  of  this  famous  book  now  so  keenly  sought  for  by  the 
collector. 

The  manuscript  of  this  famous  book  was  offered  by  Fitzgerald  to  the 
editor  of  Fraser's  Magazine,  who  returned  it  after  holding  it  a  long  time, 
apparently  afraid  to  publish  it.  It  was  not  until  years  afterward  that  the 
poet,  having  nearly  doubled  the  number  of  the  verses,  issued  it  himself, 
anonymously,  inserting  in  the  imprint,  without  even  asking  permission,  the 
name  of  Bernard  Quaritch. 

The  little  pamphlet  in  brown  paper,  with  its  eleven  pages  of  biography, 
and  five  pages  of  notes,  against  sixteen  pages  of  poem,  was  not  attractive 
in  appearance;  and  we  are  told  that  it  was  not  advertised  in  any  way, 
except  by  entry  among  the  Oriental  numbers  of  Quaritch's  catalogue.  So 
it  is  really  not  to  be  greatly  wondered  at  that  its  sale  was  slow,  even  though 
the  price  was  low  as  five  shillings.  Two  hundred  copies  remaining  on  his 
hands,  Quaritch,  who  had  consented  to  act  as  bookseller,  finally  resorted 
to  the  expedient  of  olfering  them  at  half-a-crown,  then  at  a  shilling,  then 
at  six  pence,  until  finally  they  were  cleared  out  at  a  penny  a  volume. 

Those  who  read  it  at  this  price  acted  as  leaven,  and  nine  years  after- 
ward, in  1868,  a  second  edition  was  called  for;  a  third  was  published  in 
1872,  and  a  fourth  in  1879.  These  were  all  issued  by  Quaritch  at  his  own 
expense,  and  all  without  the  translator's  name.  Quaritch  paid  Fitzgerald 
a  small  honorarium,  which  he  promptly  gave  away  in  charity. 

FitzGerald  wrote :  "  As  to  my  own  Peccadilloes  in  verse,  which  never 
pretend  to  be  original,  this  is  the  story  of  Rubaiyat.  I  had  translated  them 
partly  for  Cowell:  young  Parker  asked  me  some  years  ago  for  something 
for  Fraser,  and  I  gave  him  the  less  wicked  of  these  to  use  if  he  chose.  He 
kept  them  for  two  years  without  using:  and  as  I  saw  he  didn't  want  them  I 
printed  some  copies  with  Quaritch;  and,  keeping  some  for  myself,  gave  him 
the  rest.  Cowell,  to  whom  I  sent  a  copy,  was  naturally  alarmed  at  it;  he 
being  a  very  religious  man;  nor  have  I  given  any  other  copy  but  to  George 
Borrow,  to  whom  I  had  once  lent  the  Persian,  and  to  old  Donne  when  he 
was  down  here  the  other  day,  to  whom  I  was  showing  a  passage  in  another 
book  which  brouglit  my  old  Ouiar  up." 

"  English-speaking  people  would  have  cared  but  little  for  a  Persian 
poet  of  the  twelfth  century,  if  he  had  merely  represented  the  hopes,  the 
fears,  the  aspirations  of  that  country.  With  unintentional  insight,  Fitz- 
gerald infused  his  poem  with  that  spirit  of  modernity  which  answered  the 
needs  of  his  generation.  At  the  close  of  a  century,  when  the  illusions 
which  surrounded  its  birth,  the  gay  day-dreams  that  gave  colour  to  its 
youth,  the  sobriety  of  middle  life,  are  past  and  gone,  to  be  succeeded  by 
the  disappointing  realities  of  age  and  the  fear  of  approaching  extinction, 
the  mind  of  the  world  is  hardly  in  tune  with  the  poetry  of  optimism.  The 
popularity  of  Omarism  will  be  probably  periodic,  but  while  the  cult  may 
be  expected  to  evaporate  in  the  next  change  of  atmosphere,  the  beauty  and 
distinction  of  the  poem  and  the  music  of  its  diction  will  still  endure  with 
antiseptic  power." 

56 


GUSTAVE  FLAUBERT 

(1821-1880) 

MADAJME  BOVARY  — MOEURS  DE  PRO- 
VIXCE  PAR  GUSTAVE  FLAUBERT.  [Print- 
ers' device.]  Paris:  Michel  Levy  Freres,  Libraires — 
Editeurs  rue  Vivienne,  2  bis.  1857.  Traduction  et  re- 
production reservees. 

2  vols.,  12mOj  half  cloth,  uncut,  with  original  paper  covers  pre- 
served. $25.00 

The  First  Edition.  "  Madame  Bovary "  was  published  in  1857,  and 
marked  the  change  from  the  Ilomantic  to  the  Realistic  School.  In  it  the 
author  presents  pictures  of  the  most  realistic  sort,  and  all  his  characters 
are  drawn  with  remarkable  vividness.  This  was  his  first  novel,  and  set  the 
style  of  the  new  fiction  followed  as  a  model  for  many  years. 

He  wrote  to  Madame  Colet  in  1853:  "The  '  Bovary'  is  not  getting  along 
very  fast:  two  pages  in  one  week!  It  is  enough,  at  times,  to  make  me 
smash  mj^  mouth  with  despair,  if  I  may  so  express  myself."  His  work 
was  alwaj's  the  result  of  the  most  painful  application.  Zola  gives  us  a 
picture  of  Flaubert  at  work:  "When  he  sat  down  at  his  desk,  with  a  page 
of  his  first  draft,  he  took  his  head  in  his  two  hands  and  looked  at  the 
page  for  a  long  time,  as  if  he  had  hypnotized  it.  He  let  fall  his  pen, 
said  not  a  word,  remained  absorbed  in  thought,  seeking  a  word  that  es- 
caped him  or  a  form  the  turn  of  which  proved  elusive.  Tourgenieff,  who 
had  seen  him  under  these  conditions,  affirmed  that  it  was  pathetic." 

"  ^ladame  Bovary  "  first  appeared  in  the  Revue  de  Paris,  where  it  was 
changed  and  mutilated,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  author. 

At  this  time  he  wrote  to  a  friend:  "Do  you  suppose  that  the  ignoble 
reality,  the  depicting  of  which  sickens  you,  has  not  a  precisely  similar 
effect  upon  me?  If  you  knew  me  better,  you  would  be  aware  that  I 
abhor  ordinary  life.  Personally,  I  have  always  kept  as  far  away  from  it 
as  I  have  been  able  to  do;  but  aesthetically  I  wished  to  dig  into  it  thor- 
oughly for  this  once,  but  only  for  this  once.  That  is  why  I  have  gone 
about  it  in  heroic  fashion,  which  means  in  minute  fashion,  accepting  every 
part  of  it,  stating  everything,  depicting  everything — which  is  an  ambitious 
expression." 

Flaubert  collected  his  materials  for  "  Madame  Bovary  "  in  the  most  seri- 
ous way — driving  around  Rouen  for  hours,  day  after  day,  and  thus  noting 
the  efifect  produced  on  the  people  and  cabmen  by  the  constant  reappear- 
ance of  the  same  cab  always  with  its  blinds  down.  He  then  wrote  the 
chapter  on  the  famous  drive  of  Emma  Bovary  and  Leon  Dupuis,  "  for  which 
alone  he  ought  to  have  been  prosecuted,"  according  to  Napoleon  III,  "con- 
sidering that  for  months  after  the  publication  of  the  book  the  innocent 
uncle  with  his  pretty  niece  and  the  somewhat  passee  aunt  with  her  lamb- 
like nephew  could  not  engage  a  cab  without  being  fleeced.  .  .  ."  The  book 
created  a  tremendous  sensation.  Flaubert  became  the  idol  and  leader  of 
the  younger  writers — men  like   Daudet,   Huysmans,   and   Maupassant. 

Prof.  Saintsbury  in  writing  of  Flaubert  says:  "His  merits  are  an  al- 
most incomi)arable  power  of  description,  a  mastery  of  those  types  of  char- 
acter which  he  attempts,  an  imagination  of  extraordinary  ])0wer,  and  a 
singular  satirical  criticism  of  life,  which  does  not  exclude  the  possession  of 
a  vein  'of  romantic  and  almost  poetical  sentiment  and  suggestion.  He  is 
a  writer  repulsive  to  many,  unintelligible  to  more,  and  never  likely  to  be 
generally  popular,  but  sure  to  retain  his  place  in  the  admiration  of  those 
who  judge  literature  as  literature." 

57 


SIR  PHILIP   FRANCIS 

"JUNIUS'    LETTERS" 

(1740-1818) 

JUNIUS,  STAT  NOMINIS  UMBRA.  Vol.  I. 
London:  Printed  for  Henry  Sampson  Woodfall,  in 
Pater  Noster  Row.    MDCCLXXII. 

2  vols,  l6mo,  full  mottled  calf,  gilt  on  the  rough,  by  Zaehnsdorf. 

$25.00 

The  First  Edition.  The  mystery  of  the  authorship  of  the  "  Letters  of 
Junius  "  may  confidently  be  described  as  the  most  important  and  artfully 
contrived  literary  secret  of  modern  times.  Nearly  everyone  has  had  a 
hand  in  it,  and  practically  every  prominent  man  of  that  day  has  been  put 
forward  as  the  only  real  author. 

These  letters  first  appeared  on  January  21,  1769,  in  a  London  news- 
paper called  the  Public  Advertiser,  printed  by  Henry  Sampson  Woodfall, 
a  man  of  education,  and  in  business  discreet  and  of  good  standing.  The 
letters  began  to  appear  about  nine  years  after  the  accession  of  George 
in.  While  nominally  addressed  to  certain  men  of  the  highest  rank  they 
were  obviously  intended  for  the  eyes  of  the  people.  Their  character  was 
such  as  to  attract  immediate  attention.  From  the  first  it  was  clear  that 
they  were  written  by  some  man  of  great  position  and  power,  and  if  Wood- 
fall  was  ignorant  of  the  person  of  Junius  it  seems  that  he  knew  his 
rank  as  he  approaches  him  with  the  greatest  deference,  as  though  address- 
ing a  superior  being. 

When  sending  his  final  letter  Junius  begged  Woodfall  to  make  the 
most  of  the  Letters  for  his  own  personal  benefit.     He  wrote: 

"  When  the  book  is  finished  let  me  have  a  set  bound  in  vellum,  gilt  and 
lettered,  as  handsome  as  you  can — the  edges  gilt;  let  the  sheets  be  well 
dried  before  binding." 

From  time  to  time  the  finding  of  this  set  has  been  reported,  but  never 
actually  discovered. 

Many  men  have  been  "  positively  "  identified  as  the  author — Lord  Ches- 
terfield, Burke,  Wilkes,  and  Johnson  among  them.  One  of  the  latest  state- 
ments on  the  theory  of  Junius  is  contained  in  "  Junius  Unveiled  "  by  James 
Smith.  This  gives  the  credit  to  Gibbon  absolutely,  and  attempts  to  prove 
the  fact  by  similarities  of  style.  Gibbon's  great  knowledge  of  men  and 
events,  military  life,  and  terms,  etc.  Some  forty  men  in  aU  have  been 
mentioned.  The  second  wife  of  Sir  Philip  Francis,  whom  he  married  in 
1814,  two  years  before  the  publication  of  Taylor's  "  Junius  Identified," 
said  that  her  husband's  first  gift  had  been  an  edition  of  Junius,  "  which  he 
bade  me  take  to  my  room  and  not  let  it  be  seen  or  speak  upon  the  sub- 
ject; and  his  posthumous  present,  which  his  son  found  in  his  bureau, 
was  '  Junius  Identified '  sealed  up  and  directed  to  me." 

When  Sir  Philip  Francis  was  once  confronted  with  the  so-called  proofs 
of  his  identity  as  Junius,  he  exclaimed:  "God!  if  men  force  laurels  on  my 
head,  I'll  wear  them." 

Chabot's  work  has  also  established  the  fact  that  the  author  was  Sir 
Philip  Francis. 

58 


EDWARD  GIBBON 

(1737-1794) 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  DECLINE  AND 
FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE.  By  Edward 
Gibbon,  Esq.  Volume  the  First.  [Quotation.]  Lon- 
don: Printed  for  W.  Strahan;  and  T.  Cadell,  In  the 
Strand.    MDCCLXXVI.     [— MDCCLXXXVIIL] 

6  vols.,  4to,  Portrait,  half  calf,  sprinkled  edges.  $35.00 

The  First  Edition.  It  was  on  the  17th  of  February  that  the  first  volume 
of  the  great  work  finally  "  declined  into  the  World,"  as  the  author  ex- 
pressed it.  Its  popularity  was  immediate.  "  I  am  at  a  loss  how  to  describe 
the  success  of  the  work  without  betraying  the  vanity  of  the  writer.  The 
first  impression  was  exhausted  in  a  few  days;  a  second  and  third  edition 
were  scarcely  adequate  to  the  demand,  and  the  bookseller's  property  was 
twice  invaded  by  the  pirates  of  Dublin.  My  book  was  on  every  table,  and 
almost  on  every  toilette.  .  .  ." 

Under  date  of  April  13,  1781,  he  writes  to  his  stepmother:  "  The  recep- 
tion of  these  two  volumes  has  been  very  unlike  that  of  the  first,  and  yet 
my  vanity  is  so  very  dexterous,  that  I  am  not  displeased  with  the  differ- 
ence. The  effects  of  novelty  could  no  longer  operate,  and  the  public  was 
not  surprised  by  the  unexpected  appearance  of  a  new  and  unknown  author. 
The  progress  of  these  two  voliunes  has  hitherto  been  quiet  and  silent. 
Ahnost  everybody  that  reads  has  purchased,  but  few  persons  (compara- 
tively) have  read  them;  and  I  find  that  the  greatest  number,  satisfied  that 
they  have  acquired  a  valuable  fund  of  entertainment,  defer  the  perusal 
to  the  summer,  the  country,  and  a  more  quiet  period.  Yet  I  have  reason 
to  think,  from  the  opinion  of  some  judges,  that  my  reputation  has  not 
suffered  by  this  publication.  The  clergy  (such  is  the  advantage  of  a  total 
loss  of  character)  commend  my  decency  and  moderation,  but  the  patriots 
wish  to  down  the  work  and  the  author." 

The  publishers  had  allowed  Gibbon  two  thirds  of  the  profits  for  the  first 
volume,  which  amounted  on  the  first  edition  to  £490.  In  another  letter 
written  in  1788,  to  his  stepmother,  Gibbon  refers  again  to  his  relations  with 
Cadell :  "  The  public,  where  it  costs  them  nothing,  are  extravagantly  liberal ; 
yet  I  will  allow  %vith  Dr.  Johnson  '  that  booksellers  in  this  age  are  not  the 
worst  patrons  of  literature.'  "  yMIibone  tells  us  that  the  historian's  "  profit 
on  the  whole  is  stated  to  have  been  £6,000,  whilst  the  booksellers  netted 
the  handsome  sum  of  £60,000." 

The  sixth  volume  was  finished  June  27th,  1787,  and  was  published  with 
the  fourth  and  fifth  in  April,   1788.     Gibbon  says: 

"The  impression  of  the  fourth  volume  had  consumed  three  months;  our 
common  interest  required  that  we  should  move  with  quicker  pace,  and 
Mr.  Strahan  fulfilled  his  engagement,  which  few  printers  could  sustain,  of 
delivering  everj'  week  three  thousand  copies  of  nine  sheets.  The  day  of  pub- 
lication was,  however,  delayed,  that  it  might  coincide  with  the  fifty-first 
anniversary  of  mv  own  birthday;  the  double  festival  was  celebrated  by  a 
cheerful  literary  dinner  at  Mr.  Cadell's  house,  and  I  seemed  to  blush  while 
they  read  an  elegant  compliment  from  Mr.  Haley." 

John  Ilall,  historical  engraver  to  George  III,  executed  the  portrait  of 
Gibbon,  after  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  which  faces  the  title  page  of  the  first 
volume.  The  plate  was  issued  separately  in  1780,  Cadell,  the  publisher, 
having  "  strenuouslv  urged  the  curiosity  of  the  i)ul)Iic  "  as  a  reason  for  its 
immediate  publication.  The  vignettes  emblematic  of  Rome  arc  most  appro- 
priately introduced. 

59 


THE 

VICAR 

O   F 

WAKEFIELD: 

A  TALE. 

Suppoied  to  be  written  by  Himself. 

Sperate  mifer'ty    cavete  falices» 
V    O   L.     L 


SALISBURY: 

Printed    by  B.  C  O  L  L  I  N  S< 

ForF.  NBWBBR.Y,  in  Pater-Nofter-Row,  London. 

MDCGLXVJ. 


60 


OLIVER  GOLDSMITH 

(1728-1774) 

THE  VICAR  OF  WAKEFIELD:  A  TALE. 

Supposed  to  be  Written  by  Himself.  Separate  miferi, 
cavete  foelices.  Vol.  I.  Salisbury:  Printed  by  B. 
Collins,  for  F.  Newbery,  in  Pater-Noster-Row,  London. 
MDCCLXVI. 

2  vols.,   l6ino,  contemporary  calf.  $675.00 

Boswell,  Mrs.  Piozzi,  Sir  John  Hawkins  and  others  have  given  slightly 
dififerent  versions  of  the  well-known  story  of  the  sale  of  the  manuscript 
of  the  "  Vicar."  The  earliest  account  was  written  by  Mrs.  Piozzi  in  1786, 
under  the  title  of  "  Anecdotes  of  the  late  Samuel  Johnson,  LL.D."  At 
pp.  119-120  she  says: 

"  I  have  forgotten  the  year,  but  it  could  scarcely  be  later  than  1765  or 
1766,  that  he  [Johnson]  was  called  abruptly  from  our  house  after  din- 
ner, and  returning  in  about  three  hours,  said,  he  had  been  with  an  enraged 
author,  whose  landlady  pressed  him  for  payment  within  doors,  while  the 
bailiffs  beset  him  without;  that  he  was  drinking  himself  drunk  with 
Madeira  to  drown  care,  and  fretting  over  a  novel  which  when  finished 
was  to  be  his  whole  fortune;  but  he  could  not  get  it  done  for  distraction, 
nor  could  he  step  out  of  doors  to  ofPer  it  for  sale.  Mr.  Johnson  therefore 
set  away  the  bottle,  and  went  to  the  bookseller,  recommending  the  per- 
formance, and  desiring  some  immediate  relief,  which  when  he  brought 
back  to  the  writer,  he  called  the  women  of  the  house  directly  to  partake 
of  the  punch,  and  pass  the  time  in  merriment." 

Boswell  adds,  in  his  account,  that  Johnson  sold  the  novel  for  £60.  There 
seems  to  be  no  evidence  to  prove  this,  nor  yet  to  show  who  bought  it. 
It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  the  publisher,  "  F.  Newbery,"  or  his 
uncle,  John  Newbery,  with  whom  he  was  inseparably  connected,  was  the 
purchaser,  until  Mr.  Charles  Welsh  made  the  discovery  which  he  relates 
in  his  "A  Bookseller  of  the  Last  Century."  He  says: 

"  In  a  book  marked  '  Account  of  copies,  their  cost  and  value,  1764,'  I 
find  the  following  entry: — 'Vicar  of  Wakefield'  3  vols.  12mo,  Jrd.  B.  Col- 
lins, Salisbury,  bought  of  Dr.  Goldsmith,  the  author,  October  28,  1762,  £21." 

There  are  several  circumstances,  besides  the  data  given  by  Collins,  which 
show  that  the  manuscript  of  the  "  Vicar  "  was  sold,  in  whole  or  in  part,  at 
least  four  years  before  it  was  published,  and  not  a  few  months  before,  as 
Mrs.  Piozzi  thought.  One  explanation  of  the  delay  is  tliat  it  was  held 
back  until  the  "  Traveller,"  which  came  out  in  17(J5,  should  have  increased 
the  author's  reputation.  It  may  have  been,  as  Johnson  told  Boswell,  that 
the   publishers   were  afraid  the   book   would   not   sell. 

After  being  three  months  in  the  press  the  book  a]ipeared  March  27,  1766. 

The  author's  name  was  signed  to  the  preface,  or  "  Advertisement "  of  the 
book,  so  it  was  not  really  anonymous,  as  the  title-])age  and  contemporary 
newspaper  advertisements  would  lead  us  to  think.  If  it  was  not  a  financial 
success  [the  first  three  editions  resulted  in  a  loss]  the  tale  seems  to  have 
met  with  popular  favor.  The  second  edition,  hearing  the  imprint,  London: 
Printed  for  F.  Newbery,  in  Pater-Noster-Row,  MDCCLXVI.,  was  issued 
May  3Ist,  and  the  third  on  yVugust  29th.  Ninety-six  editions  were  issued 
before  1886,  and  there  are  translations  into  every   European  language. 

61 


THOMAS  GRAY 

(1716-1771) 

ODES  BY  MR.  GRAY.  [Motto.]  Pindar, 
Olymp.  II.  Printed  at  Strawberry  Hill,  for  R.  and  J. 
Dodsley,  in  Pall  Mall.    MDCCVII. 

4to,  calf  back,  uncut,  $75.00 

The  First  Edition,  and  the  first  book  printed  at  Horace  Walpole's  fa- 
mous private  press  at  Strawberry  Hill.  The  Edition  consisted  of  1,000 
copies.  It  was  while  at  Eton  that  Thomas  Gray  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Horace  Walpole.  After  some  five  years  at  Cambridge  he  accepted  an 
invitation  from  Walpole  to  travel  as  his  companion.  They  wandered 
through  France  into  Italy,  but  while  at  Reggio  they  quarreled  and  parted 
company.  Gray  pursued  his  way  alone  for  a  time,  and  then  returned  to 
Cambridge  to  take  his  degree  and  later  in  1751  he  became  instantly  famous 
as  the  author  of  "  An  Elegy  Wrote  in  a  Country  Church  Yard." 

Although  the  differences  between  Gray  and  Walpole  were  partially  made 
up,  in  accepting  an  invitation  to  Strawberry  Hill,  Gray  said  that  it  could 
not  be  on  the  terms  of  his  former  friendship,  which  he  had  totally  can- 
celled. 

In  July,  1757,  he  took  his  Odes  to  London  to  be  published.  "  I  found 
Gray,"  says  Horace  Walpole,  "  in  Town  last  week.  He  brought  his  two 
Odes  to  be  printed.  I  snatched  them  out  of  Dodsley's  hands,  and  they  are 
to  be  the  first  fruits  of  my  press.  .  .  ."  Walpole  and  Gray  quar- 
relled again  over  the  proof  corrections  of  the  "  Odes,"  but  later  became 
good  friends. 

Walpole  writes  July  16,  1757:  "  Elzevirianum  opens  to-day;  you  shall 
taste  its  first  fruits.  I  find  people  have  a  notion  that  it  is  very  mysterious ; 
they  don't  know  how  I  should  abhor  to  profane  Strawberry  Hill  with 
politics." 

And  again  on  July  26th  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Chute:  "The  press  goes  on 
as  fast  as  if  I  printed  myself.  I  hope  in  a  very  few  days  to  send  you  a 
specimen,  though  I  could  wish  you  was  at  the  liirth  of  the  first  produce. 
Gray  has  been  gone  these  five  days." 

To  Horace  Mann,  Walpole  writes  on  August  4th:  "  Shall  I  tell  you  what, 
more  than  distance,  has  thrown  me  out  of  attention  to  news?  A  little 
packet  which  I  shall  give  your  brother  for  you  will  explain  it.  In  short, 
I  am  turned  printer,  and  have  converted  a  little  cottage  here  into  a  print- 
ing-oflBce.  ...  I  send  you  two  copies  of  a  very  honourable  opening  of  my 
press — two  amazing  Odes  of  Mr.  Gray;  they  are  Greek,  they  are  Pindaric, 
they  are  sublime !  Consequently  I  fear  a  little  obscure ;  the  second  particu- 
larly, by  the  confinement  of  the  measure  and  the  nature  of  prophetic 
vision,   is  mysterious. 

On  this  latter  point  Gray  wrote:  "I  hear  we  are  not  at  all  popular;  the 
great  objection  is  obscuritj^,  nobody  knows  what  we  would  be  at:  one  man, 
a  peer,  I  have  been  told,  that  thinks"  the  last  stanza  of  the  second  Ode  relates 
to  Charles  the  First  and  Oliver  Cromwell !  " 

Gray  was  burlesqued  in  two  "  Odes  of  Obscurity  and  Oblivion,"  and 
was  nioved  late  in  life  to  add  some  notes,  "partly  from  justice,"  to  ac- 
knowledge a  debt  when  I  had  borrowed  anything:  partly  from  ill-temper, 
just  to  tell  the  gentle  reader  that  Edward  the  First  was  not  Oliver  Crom- 
well nor  Queen   Eliabeth  the  Witch  of  Endor." 

Dodsley,  the  publisher,  who  figures  so  prominently  in  the  publication  of 
Gray's  works,  was  himself  a  poet  and  also  a  dramatist,  and  as  his  epitaph 
says  "  raised  himself  much  above  what  could  have  been  expected  from  one 
.  .  .  without  a  learned  education." 

Cy2 


RICHARD   HAKLUYT 

(1552?-1616) 

THE  PRINCIPAL  NAVI-GATIOXS,  VOI- 
AGES,  TRAFFIQUES  AND  DISCOUERIES 
OF  THE  ENGLISH  NATION,  MADE  BY  SEA 
OR  OUER-LAND,  TO  THE  RE^NIOTE  AND 
FARTHEST  DISTANT  QUARTERS  OF  THE 
EARTH,  AT  ANY  TIISIE  WITHIN  THE  COM- 
PASSE  OF  THESE  1500  YEERES:  Deuided  into 
three  seuerall  Volumes,  according"  to  the  positions  of  the 
Regions,  whereunto  they  were  directed.  And  lastly,  the 
memorable  defeate  of  the  Spanish  huge  Armada.  Anno 
1588.  and  the  famous  victorie  atchieued  at  the  citie  of 
Cadiz,  1596.  are  described.  By  Richard  Hakhiyt  jMas- 
ter  of  Artes  and  sometime  Student  of  Christ-Church  in 
Oxford.  [Printer's  ornament.]  Imprinted  at  London 
bv  George  Bishop,  Ralph  Newberie  and  Robert  Barker. 
1598.     [-1600.] 

Folio,  3  vols,  in  2,  margin.     Full  titled  Russia,  marbled  edges. 

$250.00 

With  the  se%'en  suppressed  leaves  of  the  "  Voyage  to  Cadiz,"  in  1596 
(pp.  607-619  of  Vol.  I.).  It  is  by  rare  good  luck  that  the  "Voyage  to 
Cadiz "  was  inserted,  as  it  does  not  really  belong  to  the  1599  issue  of 
Vol.   I. 

On  the  title-page  of  the  1598  issue  of  Vol.  I.,  the  "  Cadiz  Voyage  "  was 
announced,  but  the  leaves  containing  it  were  suppressed  by  authority. 
In  the  issue  of  1599,  it  was  not  intended  to  appear  and  all  mention  of  it 
was  omitted  from  the  title.  It  was  therefore  absent  from  the  genuine 
issue  of  1599,  but  on  the  other  hand  some  few  copies  of  the  later  issue  were 
in  the  publisher's  hands  long  enough  to  receive  Wright's  celebrated  map, 
usually  attributed  to  Emeric  Mollineux.  A  copy  of  Hakluyt's  voyages  with 
that  map  is  one  of  the  rarest  treasures  of  old  geographical  literature. 

The  first  and  third  volumes  have  the  *'  The  "  of  the  title  in  a  long  panel 
(made  of  tj'pe  metal  ornament  in  the  first  case,  and  a  woodcut  cartouche 
in  the  last  one) ;  the  printer's  ornaments  on  the  title-pages  of  the  second 
and  third  volumes  are  alike,  and  are  the  same  as  that  in  the  first  edition. 
"  A  Tal)le  Alphabetical,"  printed  at  the  end  of  the  first  edition,  was  not 
undertaken  for  the  second ;  but  a  new,  engraved  maj)  of  the  world,  un- 
signed and  without  a  title,  is  found  in  some  copies  of  the  third  volume. 
It  is   also   used  in   two  states. 

This  maj)  is  exceedingly  rare,  and  interest  attaches  to  it  for  two  reasons. 
It  is  the  first  map  of  the  world  engraved  in  England,  on  Wright's  (Mer- 
cator)  projection,  having  been  published  the  year  after  AVright  had  ex- 
plained the  principles  of  the  projection  in  his  "Certain  Errors  in  Naviga- 
tion." .  .  .  The  second  source  of  interest  is:  tlic  map  is,  witiiout  doiil)t,  the 
one  Shakespeare  referred  to  in  "  Twelfth  Night  "  when  he  made  Maria  say 
of  Malvoiio,  "  Me  does  smile  his  face  into  more  lynes  tiien  is  in  the  new 
Mappe,  with  the  augmentation  of  the  Indies." 

63 


LUDOVIC   HALEVY 

(1834) 

L'ABBE  CONSTANTIN.  [Vignette.]  Paris: 
Caiman  Levy,  Editeur  Ancienne  Maison  Michel  Levy 
Freres,  3,  Rue  Auber  3.     1882. 

12mo,  half  blue  cloth,  with  original  paper  covers  preserved.    $15.00 

The  First  Edition  of  this  famous  book.  Ludovic  Hal^vy  was  born  in 
Paris  on  January  4,  1834.  After  leaving  school  he  occupied  various  gov- 
ernment positions  until  1865,  when  he  decided  to  give  his  entire  time  to 
literary  pursuits.  Under  the  name  of  Jules  Serviferes,  and  under  his  own 
name,  he  wrote  a  great  number  of  plays,  and  libretti  for  the  light  operns  of 
Offenbach,  Delibes  and  other  popular  composers.  Many  of  his  pieces  were 
written  in  conjunction  with  Meilhac,  and  these  continue  to  be  given  in 
France  and  other  countries  of  Europe,  while  the  light  operas  are  in  the 
repertoire  of  nearly  every  opera  house  on  the  Continent. 

In  1881  he  gave  up  writing  for  the  stage  and  turned  his  attention  to  gen- 
eral literature.  His  "  L'Abb^  Constantin  "  appeared  in  1882.  It  had  a  great 
success,  and  was  considered  "  the  novel  of  the  day,"  and  has  since  become 
one  of  the  two  or  three  books  of  modern  French  literature  which  are  known 
everywhere. 

On  December  4,  1884,  Hal^vy  was  nominated  for  the  French  Academy. 
There  was  some  slight  opposition,  and  this  was  partly  based  on  the  long 
partnership  with  Meilhac  and  the  impossibility  of  estimating  the  value  of 
his  work  in  that  connection.  But,  fortunately,  there  were  the  "  L'Abb6 
Constantin  "  and  other  serious  books,  on  the  strength  of  which  his  election 
was  ultimately  successful. 

In  the  everlasting  fight  between  Realism  and  Romanticism  Hal^vy  took 
the  part  of  the  latter.  His  early  experience  in  romantic  and  comic  opera 
was  not  conducive  to  psychological  study;  his  types  are  the  men  and 
women  met  with  every  day  in  every  walk  of  life,  with  their  little  skin- 
deep  troubles  and  wrangles  and  misunderstandings,  though  there  is  little 
attempt  to  follow  the  course  of  a  warped  or  diseased  mind  to  its  certain 
natural  or  predestined  end.  Although  his  plots  are  somewhat  mild  there 
are  enough  dramatic  incidents  to  contrast  effectively  with  the  undercur- 
rent of  sweetness  that  runs  through  them.  In  this  he  resembles  Octave 
Feuillet,  the  author  of  the  other  great  romantic  novel  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  "  Roman  d'un  Jeune  Homme  Pauvre."  Both  these  novels  are 
Parisian,  both  if  deeply  analyzed,  somewhat  trivial,  but  both  how  pleasant 
to  read!  One  gets  up  after  closing  the  book  with  the  feeling  that  the 
world  is  not  so  bad  after  all;  that  there  are  good  people  in  it,  people  of 
sincerity  and  earnestness,  endeavoring  and  anxious  to  help  those  in  sor- 
row or  distress.  The  Abbe  in  "  L'Abbe  Constantin  "  is  as  real  as  the  good 
old  priest  in  the  first  part  of  "  Les  Miserables,"  and  it  is  pleasant  to  be- 
lieve that  there  are  such  people:  the  world  is  all  the  better  for  the  ideal, 
even  though  in  some  cases  it  may  lead  to  self-deception,  or  perhaps  an 
unworthy  self-satisfaction.  The  effect  of  a  masterpiece  of  character  draw- 
ing like  the  "  Abbe  Constantin  "  is  wholly  for  good. 

Edouard  Pailleron,  the  critic,  in  writing  on  Halevy  said:  Although  hav- 
ing written  for  the  stage  only  in  collaboration,  and  sinking  in  that  manner 
his  personality,  he  yet  knows  how  to  quickly  resume  his  own  individuality 
in  his  romances  and  stories;  individual  works,  conceived  in  his  own  mind, 
expressed  in  a  form  entirely  modern  though  decidedly  Parisian.  He  sees 
things  as  a  Parisian  sees  them,  and  speaks  of  them  as  they  speak  in  the 
language  of  one  initiated  such  as  they  imderstand;  with  a  lively  wit  and 
xaillerv,  and  a  pretext  for  emotion  sufficient  for  those  who  desire  to  find  it. 

64 


NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE 

(1804-1864) 

THE    SCARLET   LETTER:   A   ROMANCE. 

By  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.     Boston:  Ticknor,  Read  & 
Fields.    MDCCCL. 

12ino,   full  straight   grained   black   morocco,   gilt   top,  uncut,   by 
Riviere  &  Son.  $35.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing  the  misprint  on  page  21,  line  29,  of  "  re- 
duplicate." James  T.  Fields,  in  his  little  "  Life  of  Hawthorne,"  tells  of  a 
visit  to  Salem  to  see  the  author.     He  goes  on  to  say: 

"...  I  caught  sight  of  a  bureau  or  set  of  drawers  near  where  we  were 
sitting,  and  immediately  it  occurred  to  me  that  hidden  away  somewhere 
in  that  article  of  furniture  was  a  story  or  stories  by  the  author  of  the 
'  Twice-Told  Tales,'  and  I  became  so  positive  of  it  that  I  charged  him 
vehemently  with  the  fact.  He  seemed  surprised,  I  thought,  but  shook  his 
head  again,  and  I  rose  to  take  my  leave.  ...  I  was  hurrying  down  the 
stairs  when  he  called  after  me  from  the  chamber,  asking  me  to  stop  a 
moment.  Then  quickly  stepping  into  the  entry  with  a  roll  of  manuscript 
in  his  hands,  he  said':  '  How  in  Heaven's  name  did  you  know  the  thing 
was  there?  As  you  have  found  me  out,  take  what  I  have  written  and  teU 
me,  after  j'ou  get  home  and  have  time  to  read  it,  if  it  is  good  for  any- 
thing. .  .  .'  On  my  way  up  to  Boston  I  read  the  germ  of  '  The  Scarlet  I-et- 
ter ' ;  before  I  slept  that  night  I  wrote  him  a  note  all  aglow  with  admira- 
tion of  the  marvellous  story  he  had  put  into  my  hands,  and  told  him  that 
I  would  come  again  to  Salem  the  next  day  and  arrange  for  its  publi- 
cation." 

On  February  4,  1850,  Hawthorne  wrote  to  Horatio   Bridge: 

"  I  finished  my  book  yesterday,  one  end  being  in  the  press  in  Boston, 
while  the  other  was  in  my  head  here  in  Salem;  so  that,  as  you  see,  the 
story   is  at  least  fourteen  miles  long." 

The  book  appeared  about  March  16th.  As  Mr.  George  Parsons  Lathrop 
points  out,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  expectation  of  a  very  successful 
sale,  in  spite  of  Mr.  Field's  enthusiasm,  but  to  the  surprise  of  all,  the  whole 
issue  was  exhausted  in  ten  days.  A  second  edition,  with  a  preface  dated 
March  30th,  was  soon  published,  making,  with  the  first,  a  total  number 
of  five  thousand  copies.  All  these  were  printed  by  Metcalf  &  Company, 
of  Cambridge.  The  third  issue  was  entirely  reset  and  electrotyped,  and 
numbered  307  pages.  The  manuscript  Hawthorne  destroyed,  as  he  said, 
"never  thinking  that  it  would  amount  to  anything,"  all  except  the  title, 
which  is  now  in  a  private  collection.  The  second  issue,  besides  the  preface, 
shows  numerous  changes,  especially  in  words.  Among  these  are  the  book- 
seller's favorite  catch-word  "  reduplicate  "  which  was  changed  to  "  repudi- 
ate." In  late  copies  of  the  stereotyped  form  this  word  was  changed  to 
"  resuscitate." 

Hawthorne,  who,  after  the  publication  of  the  "  Scarlet  Letter,"  had  be- 
come famous,  moved  to  Lenox,  Mass.,  and  occupied,  as  he  said,  "  the  ugliest 
little  old  red  farmhouse  vou  ever  saw  "  on  the  bank  of  the  lake  known  as 
"Tiie  Storkbridge  Bowl.''  He  commenced  immediately  to  write  another 
powerful  storv  of  the  "tragic  phase  of  humanity"  which  he  treated  with 
the  same  extraordinary  subtlety  and  power  as  the  theme  of  "  The  Scarlet 
Letter."  This  was  "The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables,"  which  had  even 
greater  success  than   his  first   book. 

65 


ROBERT  HERRICK 

(1591-1674) 

HESPERIDES:  OR,  THE  WORKS  BOTH 
HUMANE  k  DIVINE  OF  ROBERT  HERRICK, 
ESQ.  [Quotation,  Printer's  Mark.]  London  Print- 
er's mark  London:  Printed  for  John  Williams,  and 
Francis  Eglesfield,  and  are  to  be  sold  at  the  Crown  and 
Mary  gold  in  Saint  Pauls  Church-yard.     1648. 

8vo,  full  contemporary  sheep,  with  portrait  by  William  Mar- 
shall. $550.00 

This  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  copies  in  existence.  With 
the  exception  that  one  leaf  has  the  plain  fore  and  bottom  margin  restored, 
the  book  is  throughout  in  the  finest  possible  condition.  The  binding,  too, 
which  has  arms  stamped  in  blind  on  the  sides  (per  pale,  a  cross  potent 
between  two  crosses  patty,  all  counterchanged)  is  in  an  exceptionally  good 
state  of  preservation. 

A  volume  entitled  "  The  Seuerall  Poems  Written  by  Master  Robert 
Herrick "  was  entered  by  Master  Crooke  for  license  April  29,  1640,  but 
was  not  published.  The  "  Hesperides  "  was  the  first  work  of  the  poet  to 
be  printed,  except  some  occasional  contributions  to  collections  of  poems. 
It  is  dedicated  in  a  metrical  epistle  to  the  most  illustrious  and  most  hope- 
ful Charles,   Prince  of  Wales,   afterward   Charles   II. 

The  book  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  second  having  a  separate  title- 
page  which  reads:  His  Noble  Numbers:  or,  His  Pious  Pieces  Wherein 
(amongst  other  things)  He  Sings  the  Birth  of  His  Christ:  and  Sighs  for 
His  Saviour's  Suffering  on  the  Crosse.  [Quotation.]  London:  Printed  for 
John  Williams,  and   Francis   Eglesfield,   1647. 

This  part  was  not  issued,  as  far  as  is  known,  except  with  the  "  Hes- 
perides "  to  which  the  author  evidently  intended  it  to  be  aflSxed,  if  we 
may  judge  by  the  lines  toward  the  end  of  the  first  part:  "Part  of  the 
work  remains;  one  part  is  past." 

The  year  of  publication  had  seen  Herrick  dispossessed  of  his  living  at 
Dean  Prior  by  the  predominant  Puritan  Party,  and  it  has  been  suggested 
that  he  was  glad  to  take  this  means  of  gaining  an  income.  His  use  of  the 
form,  "  Robert  Herrick,  Esq.,"  was,  it  is  thought,  a  wise  move  on  the 
part  of  the  publishers,  since  a  book  by  the  "  Reverend "  or  "  Robert 
Herrick,  Vicker  "  would  have  been  less  likely  to  meet  with  favor. 

Neither  Williams  nor  Eglesfield  was  a  bookseller  of  importance,  and  the 
printer  is  entirely  unknown.  He  may  have  withheld  his  name  for  fear  of 
the  judgment  suggested  by  Herrick  at  the  head  of  his  column  of  Errata: 

"  For  these  Transgressions  which  thou  here  dost  see, 
Condemne  the  Printer,  Reader,  and  not  me; 
Who  gave  him  forth  good  Grain,  though  he  mistook 
The  seed;  so  sow'd  these  Tares  throughout  my  Book." 

William  Marshall,  whose  prolific  graver  (Strutt  says  he  used  only  that 
tool)  produced  portraits,  frontispieces,  title-pages,  and  other  decorations 
of  a  certain  charm,  even  if  dry  and  cramped  in  style,  had  in  Herrick  a 
subject  of  more  than  usual  difficulty.  As  if  conscious  of  his  shortcomings, 
he  attempts  to  make  atonement  by  the  emblematic  flattery  of  Pegasus 
winging  his  flight  from  Parnassus,  the  Spring  of  Helicon,  loves  and  flowers, 
which  he  adds  to  lines  signed  I.  H.  C.  and  W.  M. 

66 


OLIVER  WENDELL   HOLMES 

(1809-1894) 

THE  AUTOCRAT  OF  THE  BREAKFAST 
TABLE.  Every  Man  his  own  Boswell.  Boston: 
Phillips,  Sampson  &  Co.     lilDCCCLVIII. 

12mo,  original  brown  cloth.     Woodcut  title  and  Illustrations. 

$12.00 

The  First  Edition.  "  The  Autocrat "  made  his  bow  in  the  first  number 
of  the  Atlantic  Monthly  in  1857.  However,  under  this  same  name  and 
general  plan  Dr.  Holmes  published  two  papers  in  the  old  New  England 
Magazine  (November,  1831,  February,  1832).  These  he  would  not  allow  to 
be  reprinted  during  his  lifetime,  and  said  of  them:  "The  recollection  of  these 
crude  products  of  his  uncombed  literary  boyhood  suggested  the  thought 
that  it  would  be  a  curious  experiment  to  shake  the  same  bough  again,  and 
see  if  the  ripe  fruit  were  better  or  worse  than  the  early  windfalls." 

In  1874  Arthur  Oilman  published  in  the  Christian  Union  (now  the  Out- 
look) an  article  describing  the  founding  of  the  Atlantic,  and  giving  credit 
to  Dr.  Holmes  for  much  of  the  success  of  the  early  niunbers. 

In  commenting  on  this  article  Dr.  Holmes  said:  "  The  success  of  my 
papers  was  a  surprise  to  me.  I  was,  as  you  say  in  your  paper,  forty-eight 
years  old,  and  felt  that  a  new  generation  of  writers  and  readers  had  grown 
up  since  I  used  to  write  for  the  Collegian  and  the  New  England  Magazine. 
I  remembered  what  Johnson  said  of  Goldsmith,  that  '  he  was  a  plant  that 
flowered  late,'  and  Goldsmith  was  but  forty-six  years  old  when  he  died,  I 
think,  however,  something  was  beginning  to  stir  in  me  for  expression  before 
I  felt  the  spur  of  this  new  stimiUus.  ...  It  seems  very  strange  to  me,  as 
I  look  back  and  see  how  everything  was  arranged  for  me,  as  if  I  had  been 
waited  for  as  patiently  as  Kepler  said  the  Almighty  had  waited  for  him." 

Perhaps  the  best  thing  ever  said  of  these  papers  was  by  Dr.  Holmes  him- 
self: "This  series  of  papers  was  not  the  result  of  an  express  premeditation, 
but  was,  as  I  may  say,  dipped  from  the  running-stream  of  my  thoughts." 

It  was  in  1858  that  the  papers  were  collected  and  published  in  book  form. 
They  had  become  widely  known,  and  were  spoken  of  as  a  new  form  of  lit- 
erature. Their  fame  spread  to  England,  where  they  remain  extremely 
popular,  and  the  book  was  reviewed  at  length  in  the  North  British  Review 
for  November,  1860. 

"  The  Autocrat "  made  an  Inomediate  impression  upon  every  reader  of 
No.  I.  Motley,  the  historian,  wrote  of  the  author:  "  He  is,  beyond  question, 
one  of  the  most  original  writers  in  English  literature,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
his  fame  will  go  on  increasing  every  day." 

WhittJer  said  of  "  The  Chambered  Nautilus "  when  it  appeared  in  these 
papers,  "  That  poem   is  booked   for  immortality." 

II.  Shelton  Mackenzie  has  said:  "'The  Autocrat'  is  as  genial  and  gentle, 
and  withal,  as  ])hilosophical  an  essayist  as  any  of  modern  times.  Hazlitt, 
saturnine  and  cynical,  would  yet  have  loved  the  writer.  Charles  r>amb 
would  have  opened  his  heart  to  one  who  resembles  him  so  much  in  many 
excellent  points.  Dickens,  no  doubt,  has  read  him  more  than  once,  admir- 
ing his  command  of  our  common  language — the  '  well  of  English  unde- 
filed '  —  and  above  all,  the  pervading  tone  of  ])ractical  philosophy.  Of  all 
who  would  have  enjoyed  him  we  may  foremost  name  Professor  Wilson, 
who  would  have  welcomed  him  to  a  seat  '  above  the  salt '  at  the  far-famed 
'  Noctes  Amhrosiana;,'  placing  him  next  to  William  Maginn,  the  wayward 
'  O'Dougherty  '  of  Blackwood's  Magazine." 

67 


EDWARD  HYDE 

FIRST    EARL    OF    CLARENDON 

(1609-1674) 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  REBELLION 
AND  CIVIL  WARS  IN  ENGLAND.  [Five  lines.] 
Written  by  the  Right  Honourable  Edward  Earl  of 
Clarendon.  [Two  lines,  Quotations.]  Volume  the 
First.  [Vignette.]  Oxford.  Printed  at  the  Theatre. 
An.  Dom.  MDCCII.     [-MDCCIV.] 

3  vols,.  Folio,  old  calf,  with  three  portraits  (rebacked).         $25.00 

Begun  in  April,  1641,  and  finished  during  the  period  of  Clarendon's  ex- 
ile, which  extended  from  1667  until  his  death,  the  history  was  prepared 
for  printing  under  the  direction  of  Laurence  Hyde,  Earl  of  Rochester,  who 
received  assistance  from  Dr.  Henry  Aldrich,  Dean  of  Christ  Church,  and 
Thomas  Sprat,  Bishop  of  Rochester.  Rochester  wrote  the  introduction 
and  dedications. 

On  the  verso  of  the  title-page  of  the  first  voluume  we  find  "  Imprimatur. 
Ro.  Hander  Vice-Can.  Oxon.  Apr.  29,  1702"  ;  the  second  volume  is  signed 
"  GuU  Delaune  Vice-Can.  Oxon.  Sept.  15,  1703,"  and  the  third,  by  De- 
laune,  "  Octob.  16,  1704," 

There  is  no  dedication  in  the  first  voliune,  but  the  second  and  third  vol- 
lunes  are  dedicated  to  Queen  Anne.  In  the  last  two  volumes  a  proclama- 
tion by  her  Majesty,  dated  June  24,  1703,  refers  to  the  fact  that  Clarendon, 
who  had  been  chancellor  of  the  University  from  1660  until  he  went  into 
exile,  provided  in  his  will  that  the  profits  from  the  sale  of  copies  of  the 
History  should  belong  to  the  University,  and  should  be  expended  in  erect- 
ing a  building  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Press,   founded  in  "  1468." 

Previously,  and  at  the  time  of  the  printing  of  the  book,  the  work  of  the 
University  Press  was  done  in  the  "  Theatre,"  a  view  of  which  is  given  at 
the  left  of  the  figure  of  Minerva  in  the  vignette  on  the  title-page.  This 
was  the  Sheldonian  Theatre,  built  from  designs  by  Christopher  Wren,  at 
the  expense  of  Archbishop  Gilbert  Sheldon,  who  succeeded  Lord  Claren- 
don as  chancellor.  It  was  opened  in  1669,  and  was  used  for  various  aca- 
demic purposes,  as  well  as  for  the  home  of  the  Press. 

The  vignette,  with  its  interesting  glimpse  of  the  buildings  near  the 
Theatre,  is  signed  '  delin  M  Burg,  sculpt,  Univ.  Ox.  1704."  Besides  these 
vignettes,  the  work  is  ornamented  with  ambitious  copper-plate  head  and 
tail  pieces,  and  initial  letters,  some  unsigned,  but  probably  aU  by  Burg.  A 
portrait  of  Clarendon  occurs  as  a  frontispiece  in  each  of  the  three  volumes. 
It  is  after  the  painting  by  Sir  Peter  Lely,  and  was  engraved  in  1700  by 
Robert  White,  a  prolific  producer  of  portraits  framed  with  borders  that, 
in  most  cases,  were  less  tasteful  than  this  one,  with  its  mace,  bag,  and  coat- 
of-arms.  The  inscription  reads:  "  Edward  Earle  of  Clarendon,  Lord  High 
Chancellor  of  England,  and  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford.  An. 
Dni  1667." 

The  plate  for  the  third  volume  has  been  much  worked  over,  if  not  en- 
tirely redrawn.  White's  name  is  erased,  and  Burg's  appears  in  its  stead. 
Some  copies  of  all  three  volumes  of  the  first  edition  are  dated  1704,  while 
others  show  a  confusion  of  dates,  and  the  portraits  do  not  follow  the  order 
here  described. 

68 


WASHINGTON  IRVING 

(1783-1859) 

A  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK,  FROM  THE 
BEGINNING  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  END 
OF  THE  DUTCH  DYNASTY.  [Eight  lines.]  By 
Diedrich  Knickerbocker.  [Quotation.]  In  Two  Vol- 
imies.  Vol.  I.  Published  bv  Inskeep  &  Bradford,  New 
York;  Bradford  &  Inskeep,  Philadelphia;  Wm.  :M'I1- 
Hennv,  Boston;  Coale  &  Thomas,  Baltimore;  And  jNIor- 
ford,  Willington  &  Co.,  Charleston.    1809. 

2  vols.,  l6mo,  full  original  sheep,  folded  frontispiece.  $125.00 

Early  in  the  year  1809  a  notice  in  the  newspapers,  headed  "  Distressing," 
announced  the  disappearance  from  his  lodgings  of  a  "  small  elderly  gentle- 
man "  named  Knickerbocker ;  and  another  notice  signed  Seth  Handaside, 
landlord   of   the    Independent    Columbian    Hotel,    Mulberry    Street,   reads: 

"Sir: — You  have  been  good  enough  to  publish  in  your  paper  a  paragraph 
about  Mr.  Diedrich  Knickerbocker,  who  was  missing  so  strangely  from  his 
lodgings  some  time  since.  Nothing  satisfactory  has  been  heard  of  the  old 
gentleman  since;  but  a  very  curious  kind  of  a  written  book  has  been  found 
in  his  room  in  his  own  handwriting.  Now  I  wish  you  to  notice  him,  if 
he  is  still  alive,  that  if  he  does  not  return  and  pay  off  his  bill,  for  board 
and  lodging,  I  shall  have  to  dispose  of  his  Book,  to  satisfy  me  for  the 
same." 

On  December  6,  1809,  the  actual  publication  of  the  work  is  announced 
in  the  American  Citizen: 

"  Is  This  Day  Published, 

By  Inskeep  &  Bradford,  No.  128  Broadway, 

A   History  of  New  York. 

In  2  vols. ;  duodecimo ;  price,  3  dollars. 

"  Containing  an  account  of  its  discovery  and  settlement,  with  its  internal 
policy,  manners,  customs,  wars,  etc.,  etc.,  under  the  Dutch  government, 
furnishing  many  curious  and  interesting  particulars  never  before  pub- 
lished, and  which  are  gathered  from  various  manuscripts  and  other  authen- 
ticated sources,  the  whole  being  interspersed  with  philosophical  specula- 
tions and  moral  precepts. 

"  This  M'ork  was  found  in  the  chamber  of  Mr.  Diedrich  Knickerbocker, 
the  old  gentleman  whose  sudden  and  mj'sterious  disappearance  has  been 
noticed.  It  is  jiublished  in  order  to  discharge  certain  debts  he  has  left 
behind." 

In  this  way  Irving  chose  to  introduce  his  satire  to  the  world.  The 
hook  was  put  to  press  in  Philadelphia  instead  of  in  New  York,  in  order 
the  more  easily  to  preserve  its  anonymous  character. 

The  pretense  that  it  was  a  serious  history  was  carried  even  into  the 
dedication  "  To  the  New  York  Historical  Society,"  and  the  work  may 
really  be  described  as  a  practical  joke  in  book   form. 

The  volumes  sold  well,  and,  on  the  whole,  were  well  received.  Some 
members  of  the  old  Dtitch  families  of  the  state  saw  in  them  a  reflection 
upon  their  ancestors  tliat  they  found  it  hard  to  overlook,  and  Irving  him- 
self describes  their  indignation  against  him.  Mr.  Pierre  M.  Irving  tells 
us  that  he  heard  his  uncle  .say  that  the  avails  of  the  first  edition  of  The 
History  amounted  to  about  three  thousand  dollars. 

69 


DICTIONARY 

Ot     THE 

ENGLISH    LANGUAGE: 

IN    WHICH 

The  WORDS  are  deduced  from  their  ORIGINALS, 

AND 

ILLUSTRATED  b  thdr  DIFFERENT  SIGNIFICATIONS 
BY 

EXAMPLES  from  the  bea  WRITERS. 

TO   WHICH    ARE    PREFIXED, 

A    HISTORY   of  the   LANGUAGE, 

AND 

An    ENGLISH    GRAMMAR. 

B»     SAMUEL     JOHNSON,      AM. 

In     two      volumes 

VOL.     L 


Cum  nbiihi  inimtim  cmforij  fumet  hotwfli; 
Audebit  qasrfuoqiic  pimm  fpJendoni  ha^bcuit, 
Er  fiDC  ponderc  ctunc,  ci  honore  mdigm  fertntVt, 
Verba  movcft  loco ;  quimvis  inviti  rectdjnt, 
E«  verfcntur  adhuc  imra  penetnJia  Vcfbo : 
Obfcuraca  diu  populo  boniu  cruet,  atc^ur 
Pfofctrt  in  lucon  fpeCJofa  vocabula  nn^tn, 
Qine  prifct5  mcmorata  Catcmibuj  jq^ic  Ccthegii, 
Muoc  Hxm  infomm  pmmt  «  dclcm  veruftw.  Hod. 


LONDON. 

Printed  by  W.  Stbahab, 
For/,  and  P.  Knatton  ;  T.  and  T.  Longman;  C.  Hitch  aai  I«Hawbs; 
A.   MiLtARi   and  Ri  and  J.  DoDiLSY. 
MDCOLV. 


70 


SAMUEL  JOHNSON 

(1709-1784) 

A  DICTIONARY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LAN- 
GUAGE. [Ten  lines.]  By  Samuel  Johnson,  A.M. 
In  Two  Volumes.  Vol.  I.  [Quotation.]  London: 
Printed  by  W.  Strahan,  for  J.  and  P.  Knapton;  T.  and 
T.  Longman;  C.  Hitch  and  L.  Hawes;  A.  Millar;  and 
R.  and  J.  Dodsley.    IMDCCLV. 

2  vols.,  folio,  original  calf  (rebacked),  with  coat  of  arms  stamped 
on  the  sides.  $35.00 

The  First  Edition,  Robert  Dodsley  first  suggested  to  Johnson  that  a 
dictionary  of  the  English  language  would  take  well  with  the  public,  though 
Johnson  afterward  told  Boswell  that  he  had  long  thought  of  it  himself. 
But  it  was  Dodsley  who,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  time  of 
placing  books  under  the  patronage  of  an  influential  person,  suggested 
the  Earl  of  Chesterfield  as  patron  for  the  work;  and  Johnson  addressed  him 
as  such  in  "  The  Plan  of  a  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language.  Addressed 
to  the  Right  Honourable  Philip  Dormer,  Earl  of  Chesterfield;"  .  .  .  London, 
1747,  a  pamphlet  of  thirty-four  pages. 

This  step  eventually  led  to  the  letter  called  by  Carlyle  "  the  far-famed 
blast  of  doom  proclaiming  into  the  ears  of  Lord  Chesterfield,  and  through 
him  to  the  listening  world,  that  patronage  should  be  no  more."  For  the 
Earl  was  tardy  in  acknowledging  the  inscription  (his  commendatory  let- 
ters did  not  appear  until  the  November  and  December  issues  of  the  World, 
1754),  and  did  little  to  encourage  the  enterprise.  "  Upon  which,"  said  the 
irritated  author,  "  I  wrote  him  a  letter  expressed  in  civil  terms,  but  such 
as  might  show  him  that  I  did  not  mind  what  he  said  or  wrote,  and  I  had 
done  with  him."  The  letter  was  dated  February  7,  1755,  and  ends  with 
the  famous  words :  "  Is  not  a  patron,  my  lord,  one  who  looks  with  uncon- 
cern upon  a  man  struggling  for  life  in  the  water,  and  when  he  has 
reached  ground  encumbers  him  with  help?" 

Johnson  undertook  his  great  work  single-handed,  expecting  to  finish  it 
in  three  years;  but  the  labor  was  enormous,  and  eight  years  were  con- 
sumed (the  work  appeared  on  February  20,  1755),  though  not  all  of  the 
time  was  spent  upon  the  Dictionary,  as  he  was  editor  of  The  Rambler, 
also,  at  this  period. 

The  A.M.  after  Johnson's  name  was  procured  at  Oxford  through  the 
good  ofiices  of  his  friend,  the  poet  laureate,  Thomas  Warton,  since  it  "  was 
thought  desirable  that  these  letters  should  appear  on  the  title  page  of 
the  dictionarj'  for  the  credit  both  of  himself  and  the  university." 

The  publishers  whose  names  are  given  in  the  imprint  were  joint  pro- 
prietors of  the  work,  having  paid  Johnson  £1,575  for  the  copyright.  "  The 
payment  included  the  whole  work  of  preparing  for  the  press,  and  John- 
son lost  £20  on  one  occasion  for  a  transcription  of  some  leaves  which  had 
been  written  on  both  sides.  He  employed  six  amanuenses,  five  of  whom,  as 
Boswell  is  glad  to  record,  were  Scotsmen  ..."  they  received  23s.  a  week, 
which  he  agreed  to  raise  to  £2  2s.,  not,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  out  of  the 
£1,575." 

To  Andrew  Millar  fell  the  responsibility  of  seeing  the  book  through  the 
press,  and  his  patience,  we  are  told,  was  sorely  tried  by  Johnson's  dilatori- 
ness.  When  the  last  sheet  was  brought  to  him,  he  exclaimed:  "Thank 
God  I  have  done  with  hint!"  This  was  repeated  to  Johnson,  who  said, 
with  a  smile:  "  I  am  glad  be  thanks  God  for  anything." 

71 


SAMUEL  JOHNSON 

(1709-1784) 

THE  PRINCE  OF  ABISSINIA.  A  Tale.  In 
Two  Volumes.  Vol.  I.  London:  Printed  for  R.  and 
J.  Dodsley,  in  Pali-Mall;  and  W.  Johnston,  in  Ludgate 
Street.     MDCCLIX. 

2  vols.,  18mo,  full  dark  brown  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the 
rough,  by  Zaehnsdorf.  $50.00 

The  First  Edition  of  "  Rasselas."  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the 
original  edition  did  not  have  the  name  *'  Rasselas "  on  the  title-page. 
Under    date    of   January   20,    1759,    Johnson   writes    to   William    Strahan: 

"Sir:— 

"  When  I  was  with  you  last  night  I  told  you  of  a  story  which  I  was 
preparing   for   the  press.     The  title  will  be  '  The  Choice  of  Life,  or  The 

History   of  Prince   of   Abissinia.'     It  will   make   about  two   volumes 

like  little  '  Pompadour,'  that  is  about  one  middling  volume.  The  bargain 
which  I  made  with  ]\Ir.  Johnson  was  seventy-five  pounds  (or  guineas)  a 
volume,  and  twenty-five  pounds  for  the  second  edition.  I  will  sell  this 
either  at  that  price  or  for  sixty,  the  first  edition  of  which  he  shall  himself 
fix  the  number  and  the  property  then  to  revert  to  me,  or  for  forty  pounds, 
and  I  share  the  profit,  that  is,  retain  half  the  copy.  I  shall  have  occasion 
for  thirty  pounds  on  Monday  night  when  I  shall  deliver  the  book  which 
I  must  entreat  you  upon  such  delivery  to  procure  me.  I  would  have  it 
offered  to  Mr.  Johnson,  but  I  have  no  doubt  of  selling  it  on  some  of  the 
terms  mentioned.  I  wiU  not  print  my  name,  but  expect  it  to  be  known. 
I  am,  dear  Sir,  your  most  devoted  humble  servant, 

"  Sam:  Johnson. 

"  Get  me  the  money  if  you  can." 

Boswell  says  that  "  Rasselas  "  was  written  to  defray  the  expense  of  his 
mother's  funeral  and  pay  some  debts  which  she  had  left.  Johnson  told  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  that  he  composed  it  in  the  evenings  of  one  week,  and  did 
not  look  at  it  after  it  left  his  hands. 

The  final  price  was  one  hundred  pounds,  with  an  additional  twenty-five 
pounds  when  a  second  edition  was  needed.  This  powerful,  though  pon- 
derous work,  was  apparently  the  most  popular  of  his  writings.  It  reached 
a  fifth  edition  in  1775,  and  has  been  translated  into  French,  German, 
Italian,  Dutch,  Bengalee,  Hungarian,  Polish,  Modern  Greek  and  Spanish. 
Johnson  himself  remarked  the  curious  coincidence  with  Voltaire's  "  Can- 
dide  "  which  appeared  on  April  1,  "  Rasselas  "  having  been  issued  the  last 
week  in  March,  1759.  Each  is  a  powerful  assault  upon  the  fashionable 
optimism  of  the  day,  though  Voltaire's  wit  has  saved  "  Candide "  from 
tiie  partial  oblivion  which  has  overtaken  "  Rasselas." 

Fanny  Burney  wrote  in  regard  to  it  in  her  Diary:  "  I  have  lately  read 
the  '  Prince  of  Abissinia ' — I  am  almost  equally  charm'd  and  shocked  at 
it — the  style,  the  sentiments  are  inimitable — but  the  subject  is  dreadful — 
and  handled  as  it  is  by  Dr.  Johnson,  might  make  any  young,  perhaps  old, 
person  tremble.  .  .  .  One  thing  during  the  course  of  the  successless  enqmry 
struck  me,  which  gave  me  much  comfort,  which  is,  that  those  who  wander 
in  the  world  avowedly  and  purposely  in  search  of  happiness,  who  view  every 
scene  of  present  joy  with  an  eye  to  what  may  succeed,  certainly  are  more 
liable  to  disappointment,  misfortune  and  unhappiness,  than  those  who  give 
up  their  fate  to  chance  and  take  the  goods  and  evils  of  fortune  as  they 
come,  without  making  happiness  their  study  or  misery  their  foresight." 

72 


CHARLES  KINGSLEY 

(1819-1875) 

HYP  ATI  A:  OR  XEW  FQES  WITH  AX  OLD 
FACE.    By  Charles  Kingsley,  Jr.,  Rector  of  Eversley.. 
Reprinted  from  Frasefs  Magazine.     In  Two  Volumes. 
Vol.   I.     London:  John  W.   Parker  and   Son,   West 
Strand.    MDCCCLIII. 

2  vols.,   12mo,  original  cloth,  uncut.  $17-50 

The  First  Edition.  "  Hypatia "  was  begun  when  Charles  Kingsley  was 
about  thirty-three.  It  came  out  originally  in  the  pages  of  Fraser's  Mag- 
azine, and  was  published  in  book  form  in  1853.  It  attracted  immediate 
attention  not  onlj'  in  England  but  in  Germany,  where  it  was  very  success- 
ful, largely  owing  to  tlie  interest  of  Chevalier  Bunsen,  who  was  most 
enthusiastic  over  it.  F.  D.  Maurice  took  part  in  criticising  it  during  its 
progress  and  gave  suggestions  which  Kingsley  turned  to  accoimt.  It  was 
a  remarkable  novel,  certainly  one  of  the  most  successful  attempts  in  a 
very  difficult  literary   style. 

Under  date  of  1853  Lord  Tennyson  wrote  to  Kingsley:  *"  Hypatia'  never 
came;  but  I  cannot  afford  to  be  without  it.  Part  of  the  conclusion  seems 
to  me  particularly  valuable.  I  mean  the  talk  of  the  Christianized  Jew  to 
the  classic  boy.  Hypatia's  mistreatment  by  the  Alexandrians  I  found 
almost  too  horrible.  It  is  very  powerful  and  tragic,  but  I  objected  to 
the  word  '  naked.'  Pelagia's  nakedness  has  nothing  which  revolts  one  .  .  . 
but  I  really  was  hurt  at  having  Hypatia  stript,  tho'  I  see  that  it  adds 
to  the  tragic,  and  the  picture  as  well   as  the  moral  is  a  fine  one." 

Some  years  after  the  publication  of  "  Hypatia "  Kingsley  wrote  to 
someone  who  had  praised  his  books :  "  Your  kind  words  about  '  Hypatia ' 
touched  me  more  than  those  about  '  Westward  Ho,'  for  the  former  book 
was  written  with  my  heart's  blood,  and  was  received,  as  I  expected,  with 
curses  from  many  of  the  very  churchmen  whom  1  was  trying  to  warn  and 
save.  Yet  I  think  the  book  did  good.  I  know  that  it  has  not  hurt  me, 
save,  perhaps,  in  that  ecclesiastical  career  to  which  I  have  never  aspired." 

The  year  in  which  Hypatia  %\as  issued  was  a  marked  one  in  Victorian 
Literature.  In  this  same  year  was  issued  Charlotte  Bronte's  Villette, 
Dickens's  "  Bleak  House,"  Thackeray's  "  i^nglish  Humorists,"  Sydney  Do- 
bell's  "  Balder,"  Matthew  Arnold's  "  Empedocles  on  Etna,"  Mrs.  Gaskell's 
"  Cranford  "  and  Lytton's  "  My  Novel."  That  it  should  have  had  an  imme- 
diate success  in  competition  with  such  notable  rivals,  and  despite  its  jirevious 
magazine  ap])earance,  clearly  shows  the  grasp  that  Kingsley  had  on  the 
public,  whether  the  novelist  correctly  drew  the  character  of  "Hypatia" 
is  another  question,  as  her  writings  perished  when  the  Caliph  Omar  finally 
destroyed  the  Alexandrine  Library.  As  a  picture  of  the  contest  between 
Neo-Platonism  and  Christianity  it  is  probably  correctly  given. 

Max  Miillcr  said  of  it:  "Among  Kingsley's  works  'Hypatia'  is  probably 
the  one  most  widely  known  and  appreciated,  not  only  in  England  but  in 
Germany,  France,  and  Italy  also.  Though  a  mere  novel  it  rei)r('sents  the 
struggle  of  the  old  Greek  world  with  the  new  jiowers  of  Christendom  with 
truly  dramatic  art." 

All  of  Kingsley's  books  are  intended  to  convey  a  moral  lesson,  "  Hyiiatia," 
in  particular,  dealing  with  an  analogous  period  of  intellectual  fermenta- 
tion. It  shows  his  brilliant  ])()wer  of  constructing  a  vivid,  if  not  too 
accurate,  picture  of  a  i>ast  social  state.  By  means  of  tlic  financial  success 
it  brought  him  he  was  enabled  to  take  his  wife  to  Torquay  to  recover 
her  hcallh   v.liicli  iiad   been  shattered  by  the  dam])  of   Everslev. 


LAMIA, 

ISABELLA, 

THE  EVE  OF  ST.  AGNES, 

OTHER  POEMS. 


BY  JOHN  KEATS, 

AUTHOR  OF  ENDTMIOK. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED  FOR  TAYLOR  AND  HESSEY, 
FLEET-STREET. 

1820. 


74 


JOHN   KEATS 

(1795-1821) 

LA]MIA,  ISABELLA,  THE  EVE  OF  ST. 
AGNES,  AXD  OTHER  POEMS.  By  John  Keats, 
Author  of  "  Endvmion."  London:  Printed  for  Taylor 
&  Hessey,  Fleet  Street,  1820. 

l6mo,  original  boards,  uncut,  in  a  morocco  solander  case.     $375.00 

The  First  Edition.  On  July  1-2,  1819,  Keats  wrote  to  Reynolds  that  he 
had  "  proceeded  pretty  well  with  '  Lamia,'  finishing  the  first  part,  which 
consists  of  about  four  hundred  lines."  He  adds,  "  I  have  great  hopes  of 
success,  because  I  make  use  of  my  judgment  more  deliberately  than  I 
have  yet  done;  but  in  case  of  failure  with  the  world,  I  shall  find  my 
content." 

Lord  Houghton  records,  on  the  authority  of  Charles  Armitage  Brown, 
that  "  Lamia "  "  had  been  in  hand  some  time,"  and  that  Keats  wrote  it 
"  with  great  care,  after  much  study  of  Dryden's  versification."  In  August 
Keats  wrote  to  Benjamin  Bailey  from  Winchester  and  mentioned  the  half- 
finished  "Lamia"  among  recent  work.  On  September  5,  1819,  he  wrote  to 
Taylor  that  he  had  finished  "  Lamia  "  since  finishing  "  Otho  the  Great."  The 
manuscript  of  "  Lamia "  consists  of  twenty-six  leaves  foolscap  folio,  gen- 
erally written  upon  one  side  only.  It  is  a  carefully  written  manuscript, 
.finally  revised  for  the  press,  and  shows  unmistakable  evidence  of  having 
been  used  for  printer's  copy.  The  extract  from  Burton  does  not  figure 
in  it,  but  there  is  the  following  footnote  on  page  1 :  "  The  groundwork 
of  this  story  will  be  found  in  Burton's  '  Anatomy  of  Melancholy,'  Part  3, 
Sect.  3.     Memb.   1st.     Subs.  1st." 

The  poems  in  this  volume  represent  the  labor  of  a  little  over  a  year  and 
a  half — that  is,  from  March,  1818,  to  October,  1819 — and  were  all  written 
after  the  publication  of  "  Endymion."  The  book  was  issued  in  the  begin- 
ning of  July,  and  was  the  third  and,  as  it  proved,  the  last  of  the  poet's 
works.  "  My  book  is  coming  out,"  said  he,  "  with  very  low  hopes,  though 
not  spirits,  on  my  part.  This  shall  be  my  last  trial ;  not  succeeding,  I  shall 
try  what  I  can  do  in  the  apothecary  line."  It  was  not  lack  of  success, 
however,  that  led  him  to  discontinue  publishing  his  verse.  Among  the 
"  other  poems  "  mentioned  on  the  title  page  is  "  Hyperion."  The  publishers 
refer  to  this  in  a  special  advertisement  stating  that  they  alone  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  publication  of  this  unfinished  poem,  which  was  intended 
to  be  of  equal  length  with  "  EndjTnion,"  but  the  reception  given  that  work 
discouraged   Keats  from  proceeding. 

Some  one,  perhaps  Rossetti,  has  said  of  Keats'  life  that  it  was  composed 
of  "  three  slender  volumes  of  verse,  an  immortal  passion,  and  an  early 
death,"  and  of  the  three  "  slender  volumes  "  "  Lamia  "  is  the  last. 

It  was  issued  in  light-brown,  paper-covered  boards  at  7s.  6d.,  and 
Keats  says  in  a  letter  to  Charles  Armitage  Brown:  "My  book  has  had 
good  success  among  the  literary  people,  and  I  believe  has  a  moderate  sale." 
And  again  he  writes  on  this  subject  to  Mr.  Brown,  August,  1820:  "  The  sale 
of  mv  book  is  very  slow,  though  it  has  been  very  highly  rated.  One  of  the 
causes,  I  understand  from  different  quarters,  of  the  unpopularity  of  this 
new  book,  is  the  offense  the  ladies  take  at  me.  On  thinking  that  matter 
over,  I  am  certain  that  I  have  said  nothing  in  a  spirit  to  displease  any 
woman  I  would  care  to  please;  but  still  there  is  a  tendency  to  class 
women  in  my  books  with  roses  and  sweetmeats— they  never  see  themselves 
dominant." 

75 


E  L  I  A. 


ESSAVS  WHICH  HAVE  APPEARED  UNDER  THAT  SIGNATURE. 

IN  THE 

LONDON  MAGAZINE, 


LONDON: 
PRINTED  FOR  TAYLOR  AND  HESSEY, 

FLEET-STREET. 
1823, 


76 


CHARLES  LAMB 

(1775-1834) 

ELIA.  Essays  Which  Have  Appeared  Under  That 
Signature  in  the  London  Magazine.  London:  Printed 
for  Taylor  &  Hessey,  Fleet-Street.    1823. 

2  vols.,  12mo,  full  crushed  crimson  levant  morocco,  special  and 
elaborate  tooling,  to  design,  crushed  levant  doublure,  and  silk  fly, 
gilt  top,  uncut,  by  Riviere.  $400.00 

Each  volxime  is  of  the  first  issue  of  the  first  edition.  The  advertisements, 
six  pages,  are  bound  at  the  end  of  Volume  I.  A  beautiful  specimen  of 
binding.  The  elaborate  as  well  as  tasteful  tooling  is  especially  dignified 
and  impressive. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  an  American  bibliographer,  Mr.  Luther  S.  Livings- 
ton, that  the  fact  became  known  that  copies  of  the  first  series  appearing 
with  the  imprint  13  Waterloo  Place  were  of  the  second  issue,  at  which 
time  the  half-title  was  inserted;  therefore  all  copies  with  the  half-title  are 
the  second  issue. 

When  Charles  Lamb  began  writing  the  "  Essays  of  Elia  "  for  the  London 
Magazine  he  was  forty-seven  years  old,  and  was  easily  the  foremost  essay- 
ist of  his  time.  Of  the  twenty-eight  essays  included  in  the  first  series, 
twenty-seven  were  published  in  the  London  Magazine.  Writing  to  his 
friend  Taylor,  the  publisher,  under  date  of  July  30,  1821  (a  letter  which 
is  owned  in  this  country),  he  says: 

"Poor  Elia,  the  real  (for  I  am  but  a  counterfeit),  is  dead.  The  fact 
is,  a  person  of  that  name,  an  Italian,  was  a  fellow-clerk  of  mine  at  the 
South  Sea  House  thirtj'  (not  forty)  years  ago,  when  the  characters  I 
described  there  existed,  but  had  left  it  like  myself  many  years ;  and  I  having 
a  brother  now  there,  and  doubting  how  he  might  relish  certain  descriptions 
in  it,  I  clapt  down  the  name  of  Elia  to  it,  which  passed  off  pretty  well, 
for  Elia  himself  added  the  function  of  an  author  to  that  of  a  scrivener, 
like  myself. 

"  I  went  the  other  day  (not  having  seen  him  for  a  year)  to  laugh  over 
with  him  at  my  usurpation  of  his  name,  and  found  him,  alas!  no  more 
than  a  name,  for  he  died  of  consumption  eleven  months  ago,  and  I  knew 
not  of  it. 

"  So  the  name  has  fairly  devolved  to  me,  I  think ;  and  'tis  all  he  has 
left  me." 

It  is  certain  that  one  of  these  essays  was  issued  as  far  back  as  1811, 
and  the  last  as  late  as  1832,  therefore  the  first  and  second  series  represent 
the  period  of  Lamb's  literary  activity  between  1820  and  1826.  All  com- 
mentators pronounce  these  essays  the  richest  fruit  of  Lamb's  literary  life. 
The  London  Magazine,  in  which  these  essays  appeared,  was  founded  in  1820 
by  Baldwin,  Cradock,  and  Joy.  Its  first  number  was  issued  in  January, 
1820,  and  Lamb's  first  essay  appeared  in  the  August  number  of  the  same 
year. 

According  to  Talfourd,  Lamb  had  been  introduced  to  the  editor,  John 
Scott,  by  Hazlitt,  who  was  subsequently  shot  in  a  duel. 

If  Lamb  had  written  nothing  more  than  the  "  Elia  Essays,"  his  position 
in  English  literature  would  have  been  assured.  Many  have  been  the  imita- 
tions since  of  these  inimitable  essays,  which  for  pathos,  humor,  and  critical 
insight  have  never  been  excelled,  if  even  equalled. 

To  the  student  of  Lamb's  writings  they  have  always  been  deeply  ap- 
preciated, because  so  much  biographical  data  is  contained  therein. 

77 


MARY  ANN  LAMB 

(1764-1847) 

TALES  FROM  SHAKESPEARE.  Designed 
for  the  Use  of  Young  Persons.  By  Charles  Lamb. 
EmbelKshed  with  Copper-Plates.  In  Two  Volumes. 
Vol.  I.  London:  Printed  for  Thomas  Hodgkins,  at  the 
Juvenile  Library,  Hanway  Street  (opposite  Soho- 
Square)  Oxford- Street:  and  to  be  had  of  all  Booksel- 
lers.   1807. 

2  vols.,  illustrated,  l6mo,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the 
rough,  by  Zaehnsdorf.  $250.00 

The  First  Edition.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  of  these  twenty  Shake- 
spearean plays,  Charles  Lamb  wrote  only  "  Timon  of  Athens,"  "  Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  "  Hamlet,"  and  "  Othello " ;  the  other  sixteen  were  by  Mary. 
The  preface  states  that  these  tales  were  written  particularly  for  girls,  upon 
the  theory  that  boys  were  allowed  to  read  the  plays  themselves  at  a  much 
earlier  age. 

The  plates  were  engraved  by  William  Blake  from  original  drawings  by 
William  Mulready.  These  two  little  volumes  were  a  decided  commercial 
success,  and  added  to  the  small  income  of  Lamb  and  his  sister.  Lamb 
humorously  remarks  in  a  letter  to  Wordsworth:  "Mary  is  just  stuck  fast 
in  '  All's  Well  that  Ends  Well.'  She  complains  of  having  to  set  forth  so 
many  female  characters  in  boy's  clothes.  She  begins  to  think  Shakespeare 
must  have  wanted — imagination!  I,  to  encourage  her  (for  she  often 
faints  in  the  prosecution  of  her  great  work)  flatter  her  with  telling  her 
how  well  such  a  play  and  such  a  play  is  done.  But  she  is  stuck  fast,  and 
I  have  been  obliged  to  promise  to  assist  her." 

Charles  Lamb,  in  writing  to  Manning,  May  10,  1806,  throws  additional 
light  on  the  composition  of  this  now  famous  book.  "  She  [Mary]  is  doing 
for  Godwin's  bookseller  twenty  of  Shakespeare's  plays,  to  be  made  into 
children's  tales.  Six  are  already  done  by  her,  to  wit,  '  The  Tempest,' 
'  Winter's  Tale,'  '  Midsummer  Night,'  '  Much  Ado,'  '  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Verona,'  '  Cymlieline,'  and  the  '  Merchant  of  Venice '  is  in  forwardness. 
I  have  done  '  Othello '  and  '  Macbeth,'  and  mean  to  do  all  the  tragedies. 
I  think  it  will  be  popular  among  the  little  people,  besides  money.  It's 
to  bring  in  sixty  guineas.  Mary  has  done  them  capitally,  I  think  you'd 
think." 

The  tales  are  twenty  in  number,  I^amb  writing  the  tragedies  while  Mary 
wrote  the  comedies,  and  the  general  principle  on  which  they  were  chosen 
is  suiiiciently  clear.  The  whole  series  of  English  histories  is  left  unat- 
tempted,  as  well  as  the  Roman  plays;  and  of  the  few  that  remain,  "Love's 
Labour's  Lost "  is  the  only  one  for  whose  omission  a  satisfactory  reason 
is  not  quite  obvious.  Perhaps  Miss  Lamb  felt  how  little  would  have  re- 
mained of  the  orignal  comedy  when  the  poetical  element  in  its  language 
and  the  brilliant  wit  of  its  dialogue  had  been  removed.  In  fact,  the  share 
of  the  work  undertaken  by  Mary  Lamb  was  the  more  difficult  and  the 
less  grateful.  It  is  very  much  easier  to  tell  the  story  of  "  Hamlet "  effect- 
ively in  narrative  prose  than  "  Twelfth  Night,"  or  "  A  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream."  The  mere  recurrence  of  the  same  class  of  incidents  in  the  com- 
edies, such  as  the  likeness  existing  between  two  persons,  evidently  tried  the 
patience  of  even  so  devout  a  Shakespearean  as  Mary  Lamb. 

Lamb  considered  "  Othello "  to  be  his  best  work,  and  that  Mary  had 
been  more  successful  with  "  Pericles." 

78 


WALTER  SAVAGE  LANDOR 

(1775-1864) 

PERICLES  AND  ASP  AST  A.  By  Walter  Sav- 
age Landor,  Esq.  In  Two  Volumes.  Vol.1.  London: 
Saunders  and  Otley,  Conduit  Street.     1836. 

2  vols.,  12mo,  original  boards,  uncut.  $15.00 

The  First  Edition.  These  volumes  were  issued  in  three  or  more  styles 
of  binding:  paper-covered  boards,  straight-grain  dull  green  cloth,  and  half 
roan  with  brown  glazed  paper  boards,  all  with  paper  labels.  The  pub- 
lishers' advertisements,  two  leaves  at  the  end  of  Vol.  II,  are  the  same  with 
each  style  of  binding. 

This  work  was  written  by  Landor  during  his  residence  at  Fiesole,  but  it 
was  published  after  his  return  to  England.  His  choleric  temperament 
and  irascible  manner  unfitted  him  for  personal  dealings  with  publishers, 
and  so  the  arrangements  for  this  publication  were  intrusted  to  his  friend 
Mr.  G.  P.  R.  James,  the  novelist,  who  sold  the  manuscript  to  Saunders 
and  Otley  for  £100. 

The  following  unpublished  letter  of  Landor's,  belonging  to  a  member  of 
the  Grolier  Club,  is  interesting  as  referring  to  this  transaction: 

"  My  dear  Sir: 

"  When  I  offered  my  '  Pericles '  to  MM.  Saimders  &  Otley  I  did  not 
suppose  there  was  more  than  enough  for  one  voliune,  the  size  of  the  Ex- 
amination of  Shakespeare.  They  told  you  it  would  form  two  volumes  of 
that  size.  Knowing  that  I  had  material  for  thirty  pages  more,  I  said  that 
if  they  would  make  the  first  vol.  300  pp.  I  woixld  take  care  that  the  sec- 
ond should  not  fall  short  of  it  more  than  a  dozen  pages.  Now  I  have  sent 
them,  not  thirty  but  a  hundred — and  they  tell  me  to-day  that  there  is  not 
remaining,  for  the  second  volume,  more  than  173  pp.  I  have,  you  per- 
ceive, already  sent  above  one  third  more  than  what  I  calculated  the  whole 
at,  when  you  had  the  kindness  to  make  the  agreement  for  me. 

"  In  reply  to  their  letter  I  have  said  that,  if  they  will  give  me  fifty 
pounds  more,  I  will  send  one  hundred  more  pages,  50  within  three  weeks, 
50  more  in  the  three  following;  and  if  this  does  not  appear  equitable  to 
them,  I  leave  it  entirely  to  you.  I  shall  then  have  given  them  ^00  pages 
for  fifty  pounds,  when  I  ofiered  them  only  285  for  a  hundred.  It  will  be 
my  business  to  take  care  that  the  remainder  shall  fall  as  little  short  as 
possible  of  the  preceding." 

The  work  appeared  during  the  early  part  of  183f),  and  though  it  was 
received  with  much  praise  by  his  friends,  and  had  many  favorable  reviews, 
the  sale  dragged.  In  October  of  the  same  year,  Landor,  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  Forster,  refers  to  an  unfavorable  review  which  appeared  in 
Blackwood:  "...  I  am  not  informed  how  long  this  Scotchman  has  been 
at  work  about  me,  but  my  publisher  has  advised  me,  that  he  loses  £150 
by  my  '  Pericles.'  So  that  it  is  probable  the  Edinburgh  Areopagites  have 
condemned  me  to  a  fine  in  my  absence;  for  I  never  can  allow  any  man  to 
be  a  loser  by  me,  and  am  trying  to  economise  to  the  amount  of  this  in- 
demnity to  Saunders  and  Otley.  .  .  ."  The  money  was  in  fact  paid  back, 
and  yet,  curiously  enough,  as  Forster  relates,  Landor  not  only  forgot,  three 
years  later,  that  he  had  received  a  payment  for  the  copyright,  but  even 
that  he  himself  had  sent  back  the  money  and  was  making  further  remit- 
tances to  satisfy  the  supposed  loss. 

79 


JOHN   LOCKE 

(1632-1704) 

AN  ESSAY  CONCERNING  HUMANE  UN- 
DERSTANDING. In  Four  Books.  [Quotation, 
Group  of  Ornaments.]  London:  Printed  by  Eliz.  Holt, 
for  Thomas  Basset,  at  the  George  in  Fleet  Street,  near 
St.  Dunstan's  Church.    MDCXC. 

Folio,  full  sprinkled  calf,  by  Lloyd.  $40.00 

The  First  Edition  containing  the  errata.  Locke's  two  previous  works 
had  been  issued  anonymously ;  but  this  book,  while  it  has  no  name  on  the 
title-page,  has  the  author's  name  signed  at  the  foot  of  the  dedication  to 
Thomas,  Earl  of  Pembroke;  a  dedication  of  such  fulsome  compliment  that 
even  Pope,  who  called  Locke  his  philosophic  master,  is  said  to  have 
thought  he  could  never  forgive  it.  In  the  first  edition,  that  appeared 
early  in  the  year,  the  dedication  is  not  dated,  but  "Dorset  Court,  May  24, 
1689,"  apjiears  in  all  the   following  issues. 

Thomas  Basset  paid  thirty  pounds  for  the  copyright  of  the  work,  and 
later  agreed  to  give  six  boimd  copies  of  every  subsequent  edition,  and  ten 
shillings  for  every  sheet  of  additional  matter. 

In  August,  1692,  Locke  writes:  "I  am  happy  to  tell  you  that  a  new 
edition  of  my  book  is  called  for,  which,  in  the  present  turmoil  of  the 
protestant  world,  I  consider  verj'  satisfactory."  The  following  month  of 
September  brought  the  book  again  before  the  public,  and  by  the  year 
1800  twenty  different  editions  had  been  published. 

The  first  edition  was  full  of  faults  that  the  second  aimed  to  correct 
"  Besides  what  is  already  mentioned,  this  Second  Edition  has  the  Sum- 
maries of  the  several — not  only  Printed,  as  before,  in  a  Table  by  themselves, 
but  in  the  Mar  gent  too.  And  at  the  end  there  is  now  an  Index  added. 
These  two,  with  a  great  number  of  short  additions,  amendments,  and  altera- 
tions, are  advantages  of  this  edition,  which  the  bookseller  hopes  will 
make  it  sell.  For  as  to  the  larger  additions  and  alterations  I  have  obliged 
him,  and  he  promised  me  to  print  them  by  themselves,  so  that  the  former 
edition  may  not  be  wholly  lost  to  those  who  have  it,  but  by  the  inserting 
in  their  proper  places  the  passages  that  will  be  printed  alone,  to  that  pur- 
pose, the  former  Book  may  be  made  as  little  defective  as  possible." 

The  amendments  and  alterations  were  printed  on  separate  slips  of 
paper,  which  were  given  to  purchasers  of  the  first  edition  to  be  pasted 
into  their  copies;  certainly  an  ingenious  if  not  altogether  satisfactory  way 
of  keeping  abreast  with  the  author's  mind.  It  must  have  been  considered 
useful,  however,  for  the  same  plan  was  resorted  to  with  the  fourth  edition. 

"  Our  friend,  Dr.  Locke,  I  am  told,  has  made  an  addition  to  his  excel- 
lent Essay,  which  may  be  had  without  purchasing  the  whole  book,"  said 
the  thrifty  Evelyn  to  the  careful  Pepys,  who  replied:  "Dr.  Locke  has  set 
a  useful  example  to  future  reprinters.  I  hope  it  will  be  followed  in  books 
of  value."  A  copy  of  the  book  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  which  has  its  little 
slips  all  carefully  pasted  in,  has  a  note  on  the  fly-leaf  written  by  its 
former  owner: 

"  Here  is  observable  the  honesty  of  the  great  Mr.  Locke  in  printing 
for  the  purchasers  of  this  edition  the  improvements  made  in  the  second." 

The  original  manuscript  is  yet  in  existence  and  is  dated  in  Locke's  own 
hand,  1671.  Such  was  his  scrupulous  care  and  method  that  he  evidently 
took  nearly  twenty  years  thinking  it  over  before  venturing  or  printing  it. 
The  days  of  scholasticism  were,  however,  nearly  over. 

80 


HENRY  WADSWORTH 
LONGFELLOW 

(1807-1882) 

EVANGELINE.    A  TALE  OF  ACADIE.    By 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow.     Boston:  William  D. 
Tieknor  &  Company.     1847. 

l-2mo,  half  calf,  marbled  edges.  $95.00 

The  First  Edition.  A  presentation  copy,  with  the  following  inscription: 
"Mrs.   Francis,  with  the  author's  best  regards,  October  30th,   1847." 

The  subject  of  "Evangeline"  was  suggested  to  Longfellow  by  Haw- 
thorne. The  idea  had  been  that  Hawthorne  should  use  the  storey  of  the 
young  Acadian  girl,  but  when  Longfellow  heard  it  he  said  to  Hawthorne: 
"  If  you  really  do  not  want  the  incident  for  a  tale,  let  me  have  it  for  a 
poem,"  and  Hawthorne  gave  his  consent.  This  was  the  orign  of  the  poem 
"  Evangeline,"  whose  heroine  was  at  first  called  Gabrielle.  Longfellow  had 
never  visited  Grand  Pre,  but  he  got  hold  of  such  books  as  could  give  him 
any  points  on  the  Acadians  or  the  scenery  of  that  region. 

In  Longfellow's  Journal  we  find  many  references  to  the  progress  of 
the  work,  as  on  February  27,  1847:  "Evangeline  is  ended.  I  wrote  the 
last  lines  this  morning." 

April  3d :  "  The  first  canto  of  '  Evangeline '  in  proofs.  Some  of  the 
lines  need  pounding;  nails  are  to  be  driven  and  clinched.  On  the  whole 
I  am  prett}^  well  satisfied.  Fields  came  out  in  the  afternoon.  I  told  him 
of  the  poem,  and  he  wants  to  publish  it." 

On  October  30th  there  is  an  entry  telling  of  actual  issue,  and  a  week 
later  we  are  told:  "'Evangeline'  goes  on  bravely.  I  have  received  greater 
and  warmer  commendation  than  on  any  previous  volume.  The  public  takes 
more  kindly  to  hexameters  than  I  could  have  imagined." 

In  1857  the  following  entry  sums  up  the  successful  career  of  the  poem: 

"  Allil)one  wants  to  get  from  the  publishers  the  number  of  copies  of 
my  book  sold  up  to  date,  the  editions  in  this  country  only,"  and  "  Evange- 
line "  is  set  down  as  35,850  copies. 

The  poem  was  translated  into  German,  Swedish,  Danish,  Italian,  Portu- 
guese, Spanish,  Polish,  and  French,  and  was  made  a  school-book  in  Italy. 

Hawthorne's  letter  acknowledging  a  copy  is  interesting:  "  I  have  read 
*  Evangeline '  with  more  pleasure  than  it  would  be  decorous  to  express. 
It  cannot  fail,  I  think,  to  prove  the  most  triumphant  of  all  your  suc- 
cesses. Jiverybody  likes  it.  I  wrote  a  notice  of  it  for  our  democratic  paper 
edited  by  Conolly."  Conolly  was  the  man  who  had  first  told  the  tale  to 
Hawthorne. 

Longfellow  replied  that  he  hoped  Conolly  would  not  think  the  story 
spoiled  by  the  method  of  its  narration.  "  I  received  his  paper  containing 
your  notice  of  the  book,  and  I  thank  you  both  for  such  friendly  service. 
Still  more  do  I  thank  you  for  resigning  to  me  that  legend  of  Acady.  This 
success  I  owe  entirely  to  you,  for  being  willing  to  forego  the  jileasure  of 
writing  a  prose  tale  which  many  people  would  have  taken  for  poetry;  that 
I  might  write  a  poem  which  many  people  take  for  prose." 

H.  H.  Stoddard  wrote:  " '  ]"',vangeline."  io\ing,  patient,  sorrowful  wan- 
derer, has  taken  a  permanent  place,  I  think,  among  the  heroines  of  J'^nglish 
song." 

On  February  10,  1848,  a  sixth  edition  appeared,  consisting  of  one  thou- 
sand copies.  "  Evanfreline  "  is  probably  the  poem  by  which  Longfellow  is 
best  known  in  England  and  on  the  continent. 

81 


JAMES  RUSSELL   LOWELL 

(1819-1891) 
MELIBCEUS-HIPPONAX.  The  Biglow  Pa- 
pers. Edited,  with  an  Introduction,  Notes,  Glossary, 
and  Copious  Index,  by  Homer  Wilbur,  A.M.  [Three 
Hnes  Quotations.]  Cambridge:  Published  by  George 
Nichols,  1848. 

12mo,  original  cloth,  uncut.  $15.00 

The  First  Edition.  The  following  extracts  from  letters  show,  in  detail, 
the  evolution   of  the  work: 

"  You  will  find  a  squib  of  mine  in  this  week's  Courier,"  said  Lowell  to 
Sidney  Howard  Gay,  on  June  16,  1846.  "  I  wish  it  to  continue  anonymous, 
for  I  wish  Slavery  to  think  it  has  as  many  enemies  as  possible.  If  I  may 
judge  from  the  number  of  persons  who  have  asked  me  if  I  wrote  it,  I  have 
struck  the  old  hulk  of  the  Public  between  wind  and  water.  .  .  ."  On 
the  last  day  of  December,  1847,  he  says  to  C.  F.  Briggs: 

"  I  am  going  to  indulge  aU  my  fun  in  a  volume  of  H.  Biglow's  verses 
which  I  am  preparing,  and  which  I  shall  edit  under  the  character  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Wilbur.  ...  I  am  going  to  include  in  the  volume  an  essay  of 
the  reverend  gentleman  on  the  Yankee  dialect,  and  on  dialects  in  general, 
and  on  everything  else,  and  also  an  attempt  at  a  complete  natural  history 
of  the  Humbug — which  I  think  I  shall  write  in  Latin.  The  book  will  pur- 
port to  be  published  at  Jaalam  (Mr.  B.'s  native  place),  and  will  be  printed 
on  brownish  paper  with  those  little  head  and  tail-pieces  which  used  to 
adorn  our  earlier  publications — such  as  hives,  scrolls,  urns,  and  the  like." 

The  latter  part  of  1848  found  the  poet  busily  engaged  in  getting  out  the 
book,  and  he  wrote  to  Gay  in  September: 

"  This  having  to  do  with  printers  is  dreadful  business.  There  was  a  Mr. 
Melville  who,  I  believe,  enjoyed  it,  but,  for  my  part,  I  am  heartily  sick 
of  Typee." 

In  October  he  says: 

"  I  should  have  sent  you  this  yesterday,  but  it  was  not  written,  and  I 
was  working  like  a  dog  all  day,  preparing  a  glossary  and  an  index.  If  I 
ever  make  another  glossary  or  index ! "  .  .  . 

"  '  Hosea '  is  done  with,"  he  says,  in  November,  "  and  will  soon  be  out. 
It  made  fifty  pages  more  than  I  expected,  and  so  took  longer."  The  volume 
appared  on  the  10th,  and  on  the  25th  he  again  writes  to  Gay:  "...  The 
first  editon  of  '  Hosea '  is  nearly  exhausted  already." 

The  book  was  published  by  George  Nichols,  at  one  time  an  owner  of 
the  University  Book  store,  and  later  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Univer- 
sity Press.  The  printing  was  done  by  Metcalf  &  Co.,  printers  to  the  Uni- 
versity. Lowell  wrote  to  Gay  on  Feb.  26,  1849:  "There  were  a  great  many 
alterations  of  spelling  made  in  the  plates  of  the  '  Bigelow  Papers '  which 
added  to  the  expense.  I  ought  not  to  have  stereotyped  at  all.  But  we  are 
never  done  with  cutting  eye-teeth." 

The  local  effect  of  "  The  Bigelow  Papers  "  was  amazing.  It  consisted  of  a 
series  of  poems  in  the  Yankee  dialect,  mainly  satires  on  Slavery  and  the 
Mexican  War,  but  hitting  at  all  kinds  of  meanness  and  hypocrisy  in  politics, 
the  pulpit,  and  the  press.  The  hitherto  despised  abolitionists  found  that 
their  cause  had  taken  on  a  very  different  character,  and  it  suddenly  became 
popular  to  be  on  the  side  of  freedom  with  a  champion  who  turned  the 
batteries  of  an  accomplished  wit  on  compromising  politicians  and  tricksters 
of  all  classes.  It  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  his  wife,  Maria 
White,  was  an  ardent  abolitionist  that  Lowell  began  to  think  of  the  serious 
side  of  the  cause  to  which  he  rendered  an  immortal  service. 

82 


THOMAS  BABINGTON  MACAULAY 

(FIRST    BAROX    MACAULAY) 

(1800-1859) 

THE  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND  FROM  THE 
ACCESSION  OF  JAMES  11.  By  Thomas  Babing- 
ton  ^lacaulay.  Vol.  I.  London:  Printed  For  Long- 
man, Brown,  Green,  and  Longmans,  Paternoster-Row. 
1849.    -1861. 

5  vols.,  8vo,  original  cloth  uncut.  $25.00 

Trevelyan,  in  his  "Life  and  Letters"  of  Lord  Macaulay,  tells  us  there 
was  no  end  to  the  trouble  that  the  author  devoted  to  matters  which  most 
writers  are  glad  to  leave  to  their  publishers.  "  He  could  not  rest  until 
the  lines  were  level  to  a  hair's  breadth,  and  the  punctuation  correct  to  a 
comma;  until  every  paragraph  concluded  with  a  telling  sentence,  and  every 
sentence  flowed  like  water." 

He  adds  this  quotation  from  one  of  Macaulay's  letters  to  Mr.  Longman, 
which,  while  it  referred  to  the  edition  of  1858,  is  also  indicative  of  his 
attitude  toward  this,  the  first  edition: 

"  I  have  no  more  corrections  to  make  at  present.  I  am  inclined  to  hope 
that  the  book  will  be  as  nearly  faultless,  as  to  typographical  execution,  as 
any  work  of  equal  extent  that  is  to  be  found  in  the  world." 

He  was  apprehensive  concerning  the  success  of  the  book.  He  writes, 
"  I  have  armed  myself  with  all  my  philosophy  for  the  event  of  failure,"  but 
his  fears  were  groundless.  "  The  people  of  the  United  States,"  says 
Trevelyan,  "  were  even  more  eager  than  the  people  of  the  United  Kingdom 
to  read  about  their  common  ancestors;  with  the  advantage  that,  from  the 
absence  of  an  international  copyright,  they  were  able  to  read  about  them 
for  next  to  nothing.  On  the  fourth  of  AprU,  1849,  Messrs.  Harper  of 
New  York,  wrote  to  Macaulay:  'We  beg  you  to  accept  herewith  a  copy 
of  our  cheap  edition  of  your  work.  There  have  been  three  other  editions 
published  by  diflferent  houses,  and  another  is  in  preparation;  so  there  will 
be  six  different  editions  in  the  market.  We  have  already  sold  forty  thou- 
sand copies,  and  we  presume  that  over  sixty  thousand  copies  have  been 
disposed  of.  No  work,  of  any  kind,  has  ever  so  completely  taken  our 
country  by  storm.'  An  indirect  compliment  to  the  celebrity  of  the  book 
was  afforded  by  a  desperate,  and  almost  internecine,  controversy  which 
raged  throughout  the  American  newspapers  as  to  whether  the  Messrs. 
Harper  were  justified  in  having  altered  Macaulay's  spelling  to  suit  the 
orthographical  canons  laid   down  in   Noah  Webster's   dictionary." 

This  quotation  refers  to  the  first  volume.  The  second  volume  came  out 
in  the  same  year,  but  the  third  and  fourth  did  not  appear  until  1855.  Vol- 
ume five  was  edited  by  Macaulay's  sister.  Lady  Trevelyan,  in  ISb'l.  It 
continued  the  portion  of  the  history  which  was  fairly  transcribed  and 
revised  by  the  author  before  his  death. 

The  posthumous  papers  of  the  last  volume  remind  us  of  what  Mr.  Alex- 
ander B.  Grosart  says  in  his  life  of  Spenser,  apropos  of  the  promise  on 
the  title-page  of  the  Fairy  Queen  that  the  work  should  be  in  twelve 
books  fashioning  twelve  moral  virtues: 

"  Than  this  splendid  audacity  I  know  nothing  comparable,  unless  Lord 
Macaulay's  opening  of  his  '  History  of  l<'ngland,'  wherein — without  any 
saving  clause,  as  Thomas  Fuller  would  have  said,  of  '  if  the  Lord  will ' — 
he  pledges  himself  to  write  his  great  story  down  to  '  memories '  of  men 
'  still  living.' " 

83 


PHILIP  MASSINGER 

(1583-1640) 

THE   e:mperour   of   the   east,     a 

Tragae  Comoedie.  The  Scaene  Constantinople.  As  it 
hath  bene  divers  times  acted,  at  the  Blackfriers,  and 
Globe  Play-houses,  by  the  Kings  Majesties  Servants. 
Written  by  Philip  JMassinger.  [Printer's  mariv.]  Lon- 
don: Printed  by  Thomas  Harper,  for  John  Waterson. 
Anno,  1632. 

Small  4to^  full  crushed  blue  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough  by 
Riviere  &  Son.  $60.00 

The  First  Edition.  Massinger's  "  Emperour  of  the  East  "  was  licensed  on 
March  4,  1631,  and  published  November  19,  1631,  for  the  King's  Players. 
It  is  one  of  the  plays  which  Massinger  wrote  without  collaboration.  Bibli- 
ographers have  noticed  a  curious  parallel  between  a  passage  in  Act  4, 
Scene  iv,  and  one  in  Molifere's  "  Malade  Imaginaire  "  published  in  1673 — 
the  last  few  lines  in   Toinette's   long  speech  in   Act  3. 

Massinger  wrote  fifteen  plays  luiaided.  Several  of  his  plots  he  bor- 
rowed from  Cervantes,  and  both  the  Spanish  and  Italian  influence  is  often 
apparent.  In  his  masterly  working  out  of  plots,  and  in  his  insight  into 
stage  requirements,  he  has  hardly  an  equal  among  his  contemporaries  either 
at  home  or  abroad.  He  repeated  himself  often  and  without  ceremony,  and 
this  habit  has  enabled  critics  to  recognize  his  work  in  anonymous  or  joint 
plays,  especially  in  his  early  work,  into  which  Massinger  introduced  much 
prose  and  rhyme,  but  in  his  later  work  he  confines  himself  to  blank  verse; 
Shakespeare  and  Beaimiont  alone  exhibit  a  somewhat  similar  metrical  style. 
Swinburne  refers  to  Massinger  in  the  following  exquisite  lines  from 
"Tristram  of  Lyonesse": 

Clouds  here  and  there  arisen  an  hour  past  noon 

Chequered  our  English   heaven  with  lengthening  bars 
And  shadow  and  sound  of  wheel-winged  thunder-cars 
Assembling  strength   to  put   forth  tempest   soon. 
When  the  clear  still  warm  concord  of  thy  tune 

Rose  under  skies  unscarred  by  reddening  Mars, 
Yet,  like  a  sound  of  silver  speech  of  stars, 
With  full  mild  flame  as  of  the  mellowing  moon. 
Grave  and  great-hearted  Massinger,  thy  face 
High  melancholy  lights  with  loftier  grace 
Than  gilds  the  brows  of  revel:  sad  and  wise, 

The  spirit  of  thought  that  moved   thy  deeper  song, 
Sorrow  serene  in  soft  calm  scorn  of  wrong, 
Speaks   patience  yet  from   thy  majestic  eyes. 

Arthur  Symons  says:  "'Grave  and  great-hearted,'  as  Mr.  Swinburne 
styles  him,  he  could  bring  before  us  with  sympathetic  skill  characters  whose 
predominant  bent  is  toward  a  melancholy  and  great-hearted  gravity,  a  calm 
and  eloquent  dignity,  a  self-sacrificing  nobility  of  service,  or  lofty  endur- 
ance of  inevitable  wrong.  .  .  .  Massinger  is  the  product  of  his  period, 
and  he  reflects  faithfully  the  temper  of  court  and  society  under  the  first 
Charles.  Much  that  we  have  to  regret  in  him  was  due  to  the  misfortune  of 
his  coming  just  when  he  did,  at  the  ebb  of  a  spent  wave;  but  the  best 
that  he  had  was  all  his  own. 

84 


JOHN    MILTON 

(1608-1674) 

PARADISE  LOST.  A  Poem  Written  in  Ten 
Books.  By  John  3Iilton.  Licensed  and  Entred  accord- 
ing to  Order.  London  Printed,  and  are  to  be  sold  by 
Peter  Parker  under  Creed  Church  neer  Aldgate;  And 
by  Robert  Boulter  at  the  Tm-ks  Head  in  Bishopgate- 
street;  And  JNIatthias  Walker,  under  St.  Dunstan's 
Church  In  Fleet-street,  1667. 

Small  ito,  olive-brown  morocco,  gilt  edges,  by  J.  Clarke.     $950.00 

The  first   (or  second)   issue.     A  fine  copy. 

A  fine  copy  of  the  excessively  rare  first  (or  second)  issue  of  the  first 
edition  of  Milton's  famous  epic.  The  title  of  this  copy  has  the  author's 
name,  "  John  Milton,"  printed  in  smaller  italic  capitals  than  that  which 
occurs  on  the  title  of  what  is  sometimes  called  the  first  issue,  and  Lowndes, 
who  terms  the  above  the  second  title-page,  remarks:  "It  should  be  ob- 
served, that  although  this  variation  is  placed  as  the  second  state,  it  is  just 
as  likely  to  be  the  first,  as  there  is  no  evidence  to  the  contrary." 

Copies  with  these  two  varying  titles,  either  of  which  may  belong  to  a 
copy  of  the  first  issue,  are  of  extreme  rarity — much  rarer  than  they  are 
generally  supposed  to  be.  Most  of  the  copies  which  pass  as  first  editions 
are  issues  made  in  1668  or  1669,  after  the  corrections  had  been  eflPected  on 
the  last  page  of  Book  3,  with  the  first  or  second  title  inserted.  To  ensure 
a  copy  being  of  the  first  issue,  the  following  are  the  chief  points  to  be 
noted:  the  title  is  the  only  preliminary  leaf;  and,  as  regai-ds  the  text,  the 
penultimate  line  of  Book  3  is  "  Throws  his  steep  flight  with  many  an 
aerie  wheele."  In  the  later  issues  with  was  altered  to  in.  There  are  a  few 
other  differences,  but  these  will  suffice  to  distinguish  tlie  first  issue. 

He  may,  as  Prof.  Masson  has  pointed  out,  have  had  difficulty  in  finding 
a  ])ublisher  able  and  willing  to  venture  upon  the  printing  of  a  work  by  one 
"  whose  attacks  on  the  church  and  defenses  of  the  execution  of  Ciiarles  I, 
were  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all,  and  some  of  whose  pamphlets  had 
been  puljlicly  burned  by  the  hangman  after  the  Restoration."  It  is  small 
wonder  that  Simmons  drove  a  hard  bargain  when  the  agreement  for  the 
co])yright  was  entered  into,  April  27,  1667.  The  original  of  this  agree- 
ment came  into  the  possession  of  the  Tonsons,  and  was  finally  presented  to 
the  British  Museum  by  Samuel  Rogers,  who  acquired  it  from  Pickering  the 
jiublisher.  "  Milton  was  to  receive  £5  down,  and  £5  more  upon  the  sale 
of  each  of  the  first  three  editions.  The  editions  were  to  be  accounted  as 
ended  when  thirteen  hundred  copies  of  each  were  sold  and  were  not  to 
exceed  fifteen  hundred  copies  ajiiece.  Milton  received  the  second  £.5  in 
April,  1669,  that  is  £15  in  all.  His  widow  in  1680  settled  all  claims  upon 
Simmons  for  £8  and  Simmons  became  proprietor  of  the  copyright,  then 
understood  to  be  per])etuatcd." 

The  I)ook  made  its  appearance  at  an  unfortunate  time.  I>ondon  had 
barely  recovered  from  the  plague  of  1665  (during  which  eighty  printers 
had  died,  wherein  is  seen  another  reason  for  the  difficulty  in  finding  a 
publisher),  and  the  great  district  de\astated  by  the  fire  was  still  only 
partly  re!)uiit.  It  was  not  surprising  that  the  1,200  copies  which  are 
thouglit  to  have  made  the  first  edition  did  not  have  a  brisk  sale;  these 
were  not  exhausted  for  at  least  eighteen  months,  and  a  second  im])ression 
was  not  jtut  out  for  four  years. 


DE    LESPRIT 

D  E  S 

L    O    I 


■jOU  du  rapport  ^ue  les  loix  doifent  avoir  avec  la 
constitution  decha^ue  gouvernement ,  les  moeurs 

LE  climax^  la   RELIGION  ^  LE  COMMERCE  ^  &C. 
^  quoi  rAuteur  a  ajoute. 

Dts  recherches  nouvellesrur  les  Loix  Romaines  touchant  los 
^Aicccflions ,  fur  les  Loix  Fran^oifes,  &:  fur  les  Loix  feodale*. 

TOME    PREMIER. 


A    GENEVE, 
Chez    Barillot,   &  FiLS, 


86 


BARON   DE  LA  BREDE  ET  DE 
MONTESQUIEU 

(1689-1755) 

DE  L'ESPRIT  DES  LOIX  OU  DU  RAP- 
PORT QUE  LES  LOIX  DOIVENT  AVOIR 
AVEC  LA  CONSTITUTION  DE  CHAQUE 
GOUVERNEMENT,  LES  MOEURS,  LE  CLI- 
MAT,  LA  RELIGION,  LE  COMMERCE,  ETC., 
a  quoi  I'anteur  a  ajoute:  Des  Recherches  Nouvelles 
Siir  Les  Loix  Romaines  touchant  les  Successions,  Sur 
les  Loix  Fran9aises,  &  Sur  les  Loix  Feodales.  A 
Geneve  chez  Barillot,  &  Fils. 

2  vols.,  4to,  full  crushed  crimson  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough 
by  Duru.  $125.00 

The  First  Edition.  Charles  de  Secondat,  Baron  de  Brede  et  de  Montes- 
quieu, was  born  at  the  castle  of  La  Brede,  near  Bordeaux,  on  January 
18,  1689.  When  hardly  more  than  twenty  he  began  to  prepare  the  ma- 
terials on  which  his  "  Esprit  des  Loix "  is  based,  making  copious  extracts 
from  the  volumes  which  make  up  the  body  of  civil  law.  He  kept  this 
work  in  mind  for  twenty  years.  His  first  book,  "  Persian  Letters,"  pub- 
lished when  he  was  thirty-two,  was  issued  without  his  name  on  the  title- 
page,  although  the  secret  of  the  authorship  was  soon  known.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Academy  in  1728,  after  some  slight  opposition.  He  visited 
England,  and  was  the  guest  of  Lord  Chesterfield  for  at  least  a  part  of 
his  stay.  He  had  not  learned  English  well  enough  to  speak  fluently,  but 
he  understood  it  and  had  a  full  knowledge  of  English  history.  His  "  Es- 
prit des  Loix "  appeared  in  1748.  He  lived  for  some  years  longer,  dying 
in  Paris,  February  10,  1755. 

Lord  Chesterfield,  who  knew  him  intimately,  said  of  him :  "  His  virtues 
did  honour  to  human  nature;  his  writings,  justice.  A  friend  to  mankind, 
he  asserted  their  imdoubted  and  inalienable  rights  and  liberties,  even  in 
his  own  country,  whose  prejudice  in  matters  of  religion  and  government 
he  had  long  lamented,  and  endeavoured  to  remove." 

The  late  Professor  Churton  Collins  made  a  thorough  study  of  Montes- 
quieu's visit  to  England,  and  its  effect  on  the  "Esprit  des  Loix":  "His 
thirst  for  knowledge,  for  all  that  could  be  gathered  from  books,  from 
observation  and  experience  grew  insatiable.  But  his  chief  study  was  man 
in  his  relation  to  politics  and  society.  Of  manners,  of  character,  of  all 
in  which  human  nature  reveals  itself,  he  was  an  acute  and  unwearied  ob- 
server. In  no  writer  were  the  instincts  of  the  scholar  and  recluse  more 
happily  tempered  with  the  instincts  of  the  philosopher." 

Horace  Walpole:  "  I  want  to  know  Dr.  Cocchi's  and  your  opinion  of 
two  new  French  books,  if  you  have  seen  them.  One  is  Montesquieu's  *  Es- 
prit des  Loix,'  which  I  think  the  best  book  that  ever  was  written — at  least 
I  never  learned  half  so  much  from  all  I  ever  read." 

87 


JOHN  LOTHROP  MOTLEY 

(1814-1877) 

THE  RISE  OF  THE  DUTCH  REPUBLIC. 

A  History.  By  John  Lothrop  :Motley.  In  Three  Vol- 
umes. Vol.  I.  New  York:  Harper  &  Brothers,  329  & 
331  Pearl  Street.     1856. 

3  vols.,  8vo,  original  black  cloth.  $15.00 

The  First  Edition.  Motley  writes  to  his  father  from  Dresden  in  1852: 
"I  have  just  finished  Vol.  No.  2,  begun  since  I  was  established  here,  that 
is  about  a  seven  months'  child.  A  year  more  will  carry  me  as  far  as  I 
mean  to  go  alone,  particularly  as  the  expense  of  publishing  three  volumes 
at  my  own  risk,  which  perhaps  I  shall  be  obliged  to  do,  will  be  as  much 
as  I  shall  choose  to  venture.  I  don't  fear  much  of  a  loss,  although  I  shan't 
stand  much  chance  of  making  a  fortune.  At  the  same  time  I  don't  care 
to  venture  much  more.  Money  is  a  thing  of  which  I  haven't  quite  as 
much  to  spare  as  time  and  labour.  These  I  am  very  profuse  with.  Time 
they  say  is  money,  no  doubt  of  it,  only  I  never  could  get  mine  into  active 
circulation." 

He  writes  to  the  same  on  December  23,  1852:  "I  have  written  a  volume 
since  the  13th  July  of  this  year,  and  which  is  the  second  that  I  have  written 
since  I  came  to  13resden.  As  this  labour  includes,  of  course,  the  digging 
out  of  raw  material  out  of  subterranean  depths  of  black-letter  folios  in 
half-a-dozen  different  languages,  all  which  works  are  dark,  grimy,  and 
cheerless  as  coal  pits,  you  may  suppose  that  I  am  not  likely  to  be  a  very 
agreeal)le  customer  when  I  come  out  of  my  diggings." 

Later  he  wrote  on  April  1,  1856:  "It  has  been  very  favourably  received 
in  the  Atheiucum.  the  Press,  and  some  other  papers,  and  Mr.  Froyde's 
article  in  the  Westminster  Reviexo  for  April  is  uncommonly  well  written 
and  extremely  flattering.  I  have  heard  of  nothing  more,  and  if  the  first 
edition  is  eventually  sold  it  must  be  a  long  time  first.  It  takes  a  good  time 
to  read  such  a  long  work." 

W.  H.  Prescott  wrote  to  Motley  concerning  it:  "I  am  much  obliged  to 
you  for  the  copy  of  the  '  History  of  the  Dutch  Republic,'  which  you  have 
been  so  kind  as  to  send  me.  .  .  .  Everywhere  you  seem  to  have  gone  into 
the  subject  with  a  scholar-like  thoroughness  of  research,  furnishing  me  on 
my  own  beaten  track  with  a  quantity  of  new  facts  and  views,  which  I  was 
not  aware  it  could  present  to  the  reader.  ,  .  ." 

Washington  Irving  wrote  to  Motley:  "A  short  time  since  on  reading  the 
first  volume  of  your  history  I  was  so  much  struck  by  its  merit  that  I  was 
on  the  point  of  writing  to  you  to  express  my  admiration  of  this  great  lit- 
erary achievement  and  my  delight  at  such  a  noble  accession  to  our  national 
literature;  but  I  checked  the  impulse,  lest  it  should  be  deemed  an  intrusive 
assumption  on  my  part.  ...  I  am  happy  to  learn  that  you  are  about  to 
return  to  the  field  of  your  labours — an  ample  field  it  is — and  the  three 
teeming  volumes  you  have  so  suddenly  laid  before  the  public  show  how 
well  you  know  where  to   put  in  your  sickle." 

It  was  published  in  1856,  and  17,000  copies  sold  in  England  during  the 
first  year. 

The  manuscript  was  off"ered  to  the  leading  English  publishers,  including 
Murray,  who  declined  it,  a  mistake  which  he  found  occasion  to  regret.  A 
pretty  story  is  told  of  the  interview  between  Motley  and  Prescott,  when 
the  former  heard  that  Prescott  was  at  work  on  a  history  which  would 
fully  cover  the  same  ground  for  which  he  had  been  collecting  material 
for  ten  years. 

88 


LOUIS  CHARLES  ALFRED  DE 
MUSSET 

(1810-1857) 

LA  COXFESSIOX  DUX  EXFAXT  DU 
SIECLE.  Par  Alfred  de  JNIusset.  I.  Paris:  Felix 
Bonnaire.    Editeur,  10  Rue  des  Beaux-Arts.     1836. 

12mo,  morocco  back.  $35.00 

The  "  Confession  of  a  Child  of  the  Century,"  suggests  an  autobiography 
from  its  title,  and  incidents  are  found  in  it  that  may  have  been  De  Musset's 
own  experience,  but  in  the  main  it  is  romance,  purely  ideal,  expressing 
his  own  convictions  and  theories  of  life.  The  year  it  was  composed  was 
the  most  brilliant  of  his  life  during  which  he  not  only  wrote  the  "  Con- 
fession "  but  the  "  Xuit  de  Mai "  and  the  "  Nuit  de  Decembre,"  and  sev- 
eral other  pieces.  He  had  several  "  disappointments,"  too,  during  this 
year,  which,  according  to  his  own  theory  that  "  genius  only  came  through 
sorrow,"  may  have  been  the  stimulating  influence  that  produced  the  books. 
The  "  Confession,"  heralded  for  some  time,  was  eagerly  looked  forward 
to  by  the  public  who  dearly  love  the  word  "  confession."  The  title,  how- 
ever, proved  a  misleading  one  to  those  who  sought  for  scandal,  though 
a  luxury  of  fantasy  for  the  lovers  of  literature. 

De  Mussct  was  one  of  a  brilliant  constellation  of  authors  who  domi- 
nated French  literature  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century:  Sainte- 
Beuve,  Stendhal  (Henri  Beyle),  Taine,  George  Sand,  Victor  Hugo,  Paul 
de  Musset,  Theophile  Gautier,  and  Honore  de  Balzac  are  to-day  house- 
hold names.  All  were  geniuses — critics  and  creators,  poets  and  artists — 
and  not  the  least  of  these  was  Alfred  de  Musset.  In  him  the  highest  gifts 
of  poetry  were  combined.  His  "Nuit  de  Mai"  and  "Nuit  de  Decembre" 
rank  among  the  masterpieces  of  French  poetry  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  are  still  read  seventy  years  after  their  composition;  his  plays,  though 
not  often  acted,  are  read  for  their  poetic  quality  and  dramatic  feel- 
ing; his  prose  romances  are  printed  in  ever  new  editions.  Born  in  Paris, 
he  was  a  Parisian  of  the  Parisians;  though  he  made  several  short  trips 
to  Italy  and  Spain,  he  had  scarcely  departed  before  he  was  back  again 
in  his  beloved  Paris.  His  return,  it  must  be  admitted,  was  usually  the 
result  of  some  disappointment  in  an  affair  of  the  heart.  A  victim  of 
self-delusion  and  morbidness,  he  was  continually  falling  in  love  with  some 
new  fancy,  and  when  the  inevitable  quarrel  occurred,  De  Musset  s])ent  his 
days  writing  heart-breaking  letters  of  farewell  and  soaking  them  with  his 
tears.  After  each  such  disaj)))ointment,  like  many  otlicr  geniuses,  he 
sought  forgctfulness  in  dissi])ation  with  tlie  inevitable  result  that  he  died 
in  the  prime  of  life. 

In  both  his  poetry  and  his  prose  this  manner  of  life  can  be  seen.  There 
is  no  picture  anywhere  in  his  works  that  resembles  reality.  Where  a 
character  is  drawn,  it  is  composite;  real  incidents  are  sometimes  given, 
but  the  actors  are  fanciful,  either  the  type  of  the  flesh  or  the  ty])e  of  the 
spirit.  The  words,  the  opinions  are  De  Musset's  own,  tlie  i)assion  and  the 
sorrow  those  he  has  experienced,  the  idealism  is  that  which  he  has  vener- 
ated, but  was  too  weak  to  strive  for,  and  none  surpassed  him  in  this  word 
painting. 

Sainte-Beuve  wrote  of  him:  "He  versified  like  Delavigne;  and  could 
make  elegies  like  Andr6  Chfcnier,  ballads  equal  to  those  of  Victor  Hugo, 
and  in  his  later  years,  lyrics  like  Byron.  He  could  have  written  Don 
.luan  with  a  Voltaireun  touch.  All  this  constitutes  a  species  of  origin- 
ality." 

89 


JOHN   HENRY  NEWMAN 

(1801-1890) 
APOLOGIA  PRO  VITA  SUA.  Being  a  Reply 
to  a  Pamphlet  Entitled  "  What,  Then,  Does  Dr.  New- 
man Mean? "  [Quotation.]  By  John  Henry  New- 
man, D.D.  London:  Green,  Longman,  Roberts,  and 
Green.     1864. 

8v'o,  original  7  parts  paper.  $15.00 

The  First  Edition.  Early  in  1864  Charles  Kingsley  had  an  unfortunate 
controversy  with  John  Henry  Newman,  which  brought  about  the  publica- 
tion of  Newman's  "  Apologia  pro  Vita  Sua." 

Kingsley  had  written  a  review  of  Froude's  "  History "  for  Macmillan's 
Magazine  for  January,  1860,  in  which  he  said  that  "  Truth,  for  its  own 
sake,  had  never  been  a  virtue  with  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,"  and  attrib- 
uted this  opinion  to  Newman  in  particular.  Newman  protested  to  the 
editor  of  Macmillan,  and  a  correspondence  followed  which  Newman  made 
public,  together  with  a  brief  and  cutting  comment.  Kingsley  replied  in 
his  famous  pamphlet,  "What,  then,  does  Dr.  Newman  mean?"  which  in 
its   turn  produced   the  "  Apologia." 

Cardinal  Newman's  rejoinder  took  the  form  of  a  series  of  pamphlets. 
The  first  appeared  on  Thursday,  April  21st,  and  its  brown-paper  cover 
bore  the  title  given  above,  with  the  additional  line:  "  Pt.  I.  Mr.  Kingsley's 
Method  of  Disputation."  Thereafter,  on  successive  Thursdays,  until  June 
16th,  the  following  numbers  appeared:  Pt.  II.  True  Mode  of  Meeting  Mr. 
Kingsley;  Pt.  III-VI.  History  of  My  Religious  Opinions;  Pt.  VII.  Gen- 
eral Answer  to  Mr.  Kingsley.  Appendix.  Answer  in  Detail  to  Mr.  Kings- 
ley's  Accusations. 

A  title-page  and  "  Contents "  were  issued  with  the  Appendix.  Parts  I, 
II,  and  III  cost  a  shilling  each.  Parts  IV,  V,  and  VII,  two  shillings  each. 
Part  VI  and  the  Appendix  each  two  shillings  sixpence. 

The  parts  were  issued  afterward  in  a  cloth  binding.  In  later  editions 
almost  all  of  Parts  I  and  II,  and  about  half  of  the  Appendix,  were  omitted, 
while  some   new  matter  was  added  in  the  form  of  notes. 

Few  books  have  so  triumphantly  accomplished  their  purpose  as  this  re- 
markable work.  Its  simple  candor  carried  conviction  with  it  even  among 
Bishop  Newman's  theological  opponents,  and  from  the  time  it  was  issued 
until  his  death  there  was  probably  no  living  man  in  whom  his  countrymen 
more  entirely  believed,  or  for  whom  they  entertained  a  greater  reverence. 

It  had  an  instantaneous  success.  As  it  came  from  the  press  week  by 
week  it  was  to  be  seen  in  everyone's  hands  wherever  men  gathered,  and  was 
the  first  topic  of  conversation. 

The  future  Dean,  Church  of  St.  Paul's,  said  of  it:  "  Here  was  to  be  told 
not  only  the  history  of  a  change,  but  the  history  of  a  deep  disappointment, 
of  the  failure  of  a  great  design,  of  the  breakdown  of  hopes  the  most  prom- 
ising and  absorbing;  and  this,  not  in  the  silence  of  a  man's  study,  but  in 
the  fever  and  contention  of  a  struggle  wrought  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
passion  and  fierceness,  bringing  with  it  on  all  sides  and  leaving  behind  it 
the  deep  sense  of  wrong." 

Cardinal  Newman  is  well  known  as  the  author  of  "  Lead,  Kindly  Light," 
and  other  famous  hymns.  When  called  to  the  sacred  college  by  Leo  XIII, 
the  Pope  showed  his  fidl  appreciation  of  Newman's  worth  and  merit.  To 
Newman  this  honor  was  wholly  unexpected;  it  was  the  greater  as  it  was 
accompanied  by  an  exemption  from  the  obligation  of  residence  at  the 
pontifical  court,  hardly  ever  given  save  to  Cardinals  who  are  diocesan 
bishops. 

90 


SAMUEL  PEPYS 

(1633-1703) 

MEMOIRS  OF  SAJVIUEL  PEPYS,  ESQ., 
F.R.S.  [Two  lines.]  Comprising  His  Diary  from 
1659-69.  Deciphered  by  the  Rev.  John  Smith,  A.B., 
of  St.  Jolin's  College,  Cambridge.  From  the  Original 
Short-Hand  MS.  In  the  Pepysian  Library.  [Two 
lines.]  [Copy  of  one  of  Pepys's  book-plates.]  Edited 
by  Richard,  Lord  Braybrooke.  In  Two  Volumes. 
Vol.  I.  London:  Henry  Colbmn,  New  Burhngton, 
Street.     MDCCCXXV. 

2  vols.,  4to,  portraits  and  plates,  full  calf,  marbled  edges.    $22.50 

The  First  Edition.  To  the  information  given  on  the  title-page,  the 
noble  editor  adds  some  further  facts  in  a  preface.  He  says  that  the  six 
volimies,  closely  written  in  short-hand  by  Pepys  himself,  had  formed  a 
part  of  the  collection  of  books  and  prints  bequeathed  to  Magdalen  College, 
Cambridge,  where  they  had  remained  unexamined  (from  the  date  of  Pepys's 
death)  until  the  appointment  of  Lord  Braybrooke's  brother,  George  Neville, 
afterwards  called  Grenville,  as  master  of  the  College.  Under  Neville's 
auspices  they  were  deciphered  by  Mr.  Smith,  whom  his  lordship  had  not 
the  pleasure  of  knowing. 

Pepys  used  short-hand  for  his  notes  because  he  often  had  things  to  say 
which  he  did  not  think  fit  for  the  world  to  know;  and  Lord  Braybrooke 
found  it  "  absolutely  necessary "  to  "  curtail  the  MS.  materially."  The 
complete  journal  [all  that  it  is  possible  to  print]  was  not  issued  until  1893, 
edited  by  Henry  B.  Wheatley. 

Colburn,  the  publisher,  known  for  his  successful  ventures,  and  especially 
for  the  series  called  Colburn's  Modern  Standard  Novelists  and  The  Lit- 
erary Gazette,  containing  works  by  Bulwer  Lytton,  Lady  Morgan,  Captain 
Marryat,  and  others,  had  been  so  fortunate  with  an  issue  of  "  Evelyn's 
Diary  "  that  he  was  led  into  the  present  undertaking.  With  this  edition, 
which  sold  at  six  povmds  six  shillings,  and  with  two  succeeding  editions 
selling  at  five  guineas,  he  is  reputed  to  have  made  a  handsome  profit  on 
the  twenty-two  hundred  pounds  paid  for  the  copyright. 

The  large  volumes  with  their  broad  margins  are  handsome  specimens 
of  the  excellent  tj'pographical  work  of  the  Bentleys.  They  are  embellished 
with  two  illustrations  in  the  text,  and  thirteen  engraved  plates.  A  frontis- 
piece portrait  of  the  author,  after  the  painting  by  Kneller,  was  engraved 
by  T.  Bragg,  and  a  smaller  portrait  used  as  a  head-piece  to  the  "  Life  "  is 
signed  R.  W.  Sculp.  This  last  is  a  copy  of  one  of  Pepys's  book-plates;  it 
has  the  motto  "  Mens  cuj  usque  is  est  Quisque  "  above  the  oval  frame,  and 
"  Sam.  Pepys.  Car.  Et.  lac.  Angl.  Regib.  A.  Secretis  Admiraliae "  in  two 
lines  below.  Another  book-plate  used  by  the  Secretary  is  copied  on  the 
title-page.  Of  the  remaining  portraits,  one  was  engraved  by  John  Thomson, 
while  five  were  the  work  of  R.  Cooper,  who  also  engraved  the  "  View  of  the 
Mole  at  Tangier "  and  the  "  View  of  Mr.  Pepys's  Library."  The  other 
])lates,  including  one  showing  facsimiles  of  Pepys's  short-  and  long-hand; 
two  of  pedigrees,  and  a  folded  map,  are  signed  "  Sidy.  Hail,  Bury  Strt, 
Bloomsby." 

91 


FENSEES 

DE 

M.PASCAL 

SUR  LA  RELIGION 

ET  SUR  QUELQUES 

AUTRES    SUJETS, 

'Qui^  ont  efie  trouvees  apres  fa  mori 
farmy  fes  papiers. 


A    P  ARIS, 

Chez    GuiLLAUME    Despf. EZ 
rue  Saint  Jacques ,  a  Saint  Profper. 

M.  .DC.    LXX. 


9S 


BLAISE  PASCAL 

(1623-1662) 

PENSi^ES  DE  M.  PASCAL  SUR  LA  RELI- 
GION ET  SUR  QUELQUES  AUTRES  SU- 
JETS,  QUI  ONT  ESTE  TROUVEES  APRES 
SA  MORT  PARMY   SES  PAPIERS.      [Printers 

mark.]  A  Paris,  chez  Guillaume  Desprez  rue  Saint 
Jacques,  a  Saint  Prusper.  MDCLXX.  Avec  Pri- 
vilige  &  Approbation. 

18mo,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough.  $75.00 

The  First  Edition.  Very  Rare.  The  "  Pensees "  appeared  in  1670,  the 
fragments  having  been  found  among  Pascal's  papers  after  his  death.  It  is 
known  that  for  some  years  before  his  death  Pascal  had  been  planning  a 
great  work  in  defence  of  the  Christian  religion.  But  his  health  was  such 
that  he  was  unable  to  do  any  continuous  work,  and  simply  jotted  down 
memoranda  and  detached  thoughts  from  time  to  time.  These  fragments 
have  an  originality,  a  freshness,  an  incisiveness  which  they  might  have 
lacked  had  they  been  amplified  or  incorporated  in  a  large  book.  Soon 
after  the  death  of  Pascal  his  sister  prepared  a  memoir  of  him,  and  later 
on  she  gathered  these  "  Thoughts "  together  for  publication.  They  were 
edited  by  several  friends  and  published  in  1670.  Instead  of  the  memoir 
prepared  by  Pascal's  sister,  and  which  was  prefixed  to  later  editions,  a 
preface  written  by  Pascal's  nephew  was  used,  in  which  he  explained  the 
design  of  the  book. 

It  was  greeted  with  great  applause  and  had  a  large  circulation.  It 
was  read  everywhere,  and  there  was  a  very  general  interest  in  the  author. 
From  time  to  time  new  editions  were  brought  out  with  varying  texts,  and 
there  has  always  been  a  demand  for  the  book.  The  first  editors  used  their 
discretion  about  what  to  put  in  and  what  to  leave  out,  and  they  also  altered 
peissages  which  they  thought  might  give  offence. 

It  was  a  stormy  time  in  religious  circles — those  few  years  in  which  Pas- 
cal jotted  down  his  thoughts.  Pascal,  Antoine  Arnauld  and  the  rest  of 
the  Port-Royalists  were  fighting  for  their  very  existence.  The  entry  of 
the  Duchesse  de  Longueville  into  their  society  had  gained  them  a  short 
respite,  owing  to  her  personal  appeal  to  Clement  IX  and  her  powerful 
influence  as  the  sister  of  the  Great  Conde.  For  these  reasons  many  of  the 
thoughts  seem  to  lack  a  context,  explainable  by  the  knowledge  that  the 
questions  in  dispute  were  thoroughly  well  known  to  those  interested  enough 
to  read  them,  and  would  he  understood.  The  fragments  have  served  princi- 
pally as  a  basis  for  later  defenders  to  rear  structures  on;  this  epoch-mak- 
ing "book,  one  of  the  world's  classics,  yet  after  all  is  but  a  fragment.  The 
editing  of  the  book  was  verj'  peculiar.  It  was  sulmiitted  to  a  committee 
of  Influential  Jansenists,  with  the  Due  de  Roannez  at  their  head,  and  in 
addition  there  were  numerous  other  unofficial  advisers  to  testify  as  to  its 
orthodoxy.  These  editors  omitted,  altered,  separated,  and  combined  en- 
tirely at  their  own  pleasure,  even  making  some  changes  of  style,  which 
they' were  pleased  to  think  improvements.  They  rejected,  as  too  outspoken, 
Madame  Perier's  invaluable  life  of  her  brother,  which  was  to  accomi)any 
the  second  edition  of  the  "  Pensees,"  but  which  actually  did  not  ap|)ear 
until  1684.  For  two  hundred  years  no  trustworthy  edition  of  the  text  ap- 
peared until  in  1844.  M.  Faugere  edited  that  issue  from  the  manuscript 
with  something  like  fidelity. 

93 


THOMAS  PERCY 

BISHOP    OF    DROMORE 

(1729-1811) 

RELIQUES  OF  ANCIENT  ENGLISH  PO- 
ETRY. [Five  lines.]  Volume  the  First.  [Vignette 
with  the  words]  Durat  Opus  Vatum.  London :  Printed 
for  J.  Dodsley,  in  Pall-Mall.    MDCCLXV. 

3  vols.,  l6mo,  frontispiece  and  vignettes,  full  polished  calf,  mar- 
bled edges.  $25.00 

The  First  Edition.  Although  his  name  does  not  appear  upon  the  title- 
page,  the  author  signed  it  to  the  dedication  to  Elizabeth,  Countess  of 
Northumberland.  He  offers  the  book,  he  says,  with  some  hesitation,  yet 
hopes  that  the  name  of  so  many  men  of  learning  and  character  among  his 
patrons  and  subscribers  will  "  serve  as  an  amulet  to  guard  him  from  every 
unfavourable  censure  for  having  bestowed  any  attention  on  a  parcel  of 
Old  BaUads." 

The  book  came  out  in  February,  after  four  or  five  years  of  active  prep- 
aration. Johnson  criticised  it,  but  in  the  main  the  work  was  received  with 
the  verdict,  which  has  held  ever  since,  that  it  marked  an  epoch.  Dibdin 
says  that  when  it  appeared,  the  critics  "  roared  aloud  for  a  sight  of  the 
MS ! "  especially  Joseph  Ritson,  the  antiquary,  who  denied  its  existence. 
Dibdin,  however,  saw  the  folio,  and  describes  it  at  some  length  besides 
quoting  notes  in  the  Bishop's  handwriting,  one  of  which  is  as  follows: 

"  Memorandum.  Northumberland  House,  Nov.  7,  1769.  This  very 
curious  old  Manuscript  in  its  present  mutilated  state,  but  unbound  and 
sadly  torn,  I  rescued  from  destruction,  and  begged  at  the  hands  of  my 
worthy  friend,  Himiphrey  Pitt,  Esq.,  then  living  at  Shiffnal  in  Shropshire, 
afterwards  of  Prior  Lee,  near  that  town:  who  died  very  lately  at  Bath, 
viz.,  in  Summer,  1769.  I  saw  it  lying  dirty  on  the  floor  under  a  Bureau 
in  the  Parlour:  being  used  by  the  maids  to  light  the  fire.  It  was  afterwards 
sent  most  unfortunately  to  an  ignorant  Book-binder,  who  pared  the  margin, 
when  I  put  it  into  boards  in  order  to  lend  it  to  Dr.  Johnson." 

James  Dodsley,  the  printer  of  the  volumes,  is  said  to  have  paid  Percy 
one  hundred  guineas  for  the  first  edition  of  "  The  Reliques " — not  a 
very  large  sum  for  such  a  work.  Pickford  tells  us,  however,  that  "  as  '  The 
Reliques '  became  popular,  and  so  other  editions  were  in  request,  so  did 
the  sum  paid  to  Percy  increase. 

There  are  three  parts  to  each  volume,  and  each  part  begins  and  ends 
with  a  copper-plate  engraving  illustrated  by  a  ballad.  The  head  pieces 
refer  to  the  first  ballad  in  the  book,  but  the  tail-pieces  have  legends  shovdng 
where  the  poem  was  found.  On  page  24  of  the  second  volume  the  following 
note  is  attached  to  the  poem  "  For  the  Victory  of  Agincourt":  "This  song 
or  hymn  is  given  merely  as  a  curiosity,  and  is  printed  from  a  MS.  copy  in 
the  Pepys  collection,  vol.  1  folio.  It  is  there  accompanied  with  the  musical 
notes." 

Two  volumes  of  "  The  Reliques  "  without  imprints  preserved  in  the  Douce 
collection  of  the  Bodleian  Library  are  interesting  since  they  contain  many 
pieces  not  in  the  published  edition.  A  note  by  Furnivall,  added  to  Rev.  J. 
Pickford's  Life  of  Percy  which  prefaced  the  Hales  and  Furnivall  Bishop 
Percy's  Folio  Manuscript,  1867,  gives  the  omission  and  changes  in  detail. 

94 


EDGAR  ALLAN  POE 

(1809-1849) 

THE   RAVEN,  AND   OTHER  POEMS.     By 

Edgar  A.  Poe.     New  York:  Wiley  &  Putnam,   161 
Broadway,  1845. 

12mo,  full  black  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rougli^  by 
The  Rowfant  Bindery.  $60.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  the  half  title  which  is  often  missing,  published  in 
Wiley  &  Putnam's  "  Library  of  American  Books.''  The  poem  first  appeared 
in  print  in  the  columns  of  the  New  York  Evening  Mirror  for  January 
29,  1845,  where  N.  P.  Willis,  its  editor,  says  in  a  note:  "We  are  permitted 
to  copy  (in  advance  of  publication)  from  the  second  number  of  the 
American  Review  the  following  remarkable  poem  by  Edgar  Poe."  Willis 
issued  the  poem  again  in  the  weekly  edition  of  the  Mirror  dated  February 
8th,  and  Charles  F,  Briggs,  with  whom  Poe  afterward  became  associated, 
also  published  it  in  the  Broadway  Journal  of  the  same  date,  crediting  it  to 
"  Edgar  A.  Poe."  Both  of  these  weeklies  seem  to  have  appeared  before  the 
American  Review  came  out.  We  are  not  told  the  reason  for  Mr.  George 
H.  Colton's  editorial  courtesy  in  permitting  this  advance  publication  wlien 
the  second  or  February  number  of  his  paper,  The  American  Revieio: 
A  Whig  Journal  of  Politics,  Literature,  Art,  and  Science,  was  so  soon 
to  appear.  It  was  a  curious  circumstance  that  Willis  and  Briggs  gave  the 
author's  name  freely,  while  Colton's  issue,  as  originally  intended,  appeared 
with  the  pseudonym  of  " Quarles." 

The  poem  was  an  immense  success,  and  was  copied  far  and  wide  in  all 
the  newspapers  of  the  country.  Writing  to  F.  W.  Thomas,  May  4th,  Poe 
says : 

*" '  The  Raven '  has  had  a  great  run,  Thomas,  but  I  wrote  it  for  the 
express  purpose  of  rimning — ^just  as  I  did  the  '  Gold  Bug,'  you  know.  The 
bird  beat  the  bug,  though,  all  hollow." 

This  popularitj^  was  the  poet's  greatest  reward,  for  the  actual  money  re- 
muneration  was   only   ten   dollars. 

The  Book  was  issued  in  straw-colored  or  buff  paper  covers  about  De- 
cember, 1845,  as  one  of  the  series  of  "  Wiley  &  Putnam's  Library  of  Ameri- 
can Books,"  No.  VIII,  with  the  rather  unusual  price  attached  of  thirty- 
one  cents.  Among  the  other  volimies  its  companions  in  the  set  were  "  Jour- 
nal of  an  African  Cruiser,"  edited  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne;  "Tales"  of 
Edgar  Allan  Poe;  "Letters  from  Italy,"  by  J.  T.  Headlej%  "The  Wig%vam 
and  the  Cabin,"  by  W.  GiUmore  Simms ;  and  "  Big  Abel "  by  Cornelius 
Matthews. 

When  "  The  Raven  "  appeared  it  was  dedicated  to  Mrs.  Browning,  then 
Miss  Barrett,  and  a  copy  was  sent  her. 

Shortly  after  which  R.  H.  Home  wrote  to  Poe:  "  Miss  Barrett  [Mrs. 
Browning]  has  read  '  The  Raven,'  and  says  she  thinks  there  is  a  fine  lyrical 
melody  in  it.  When  I  tell  you  that  this  lady  'says,'  you  will  be  good 
enough  to  understand  that  I  mean  'writes,'  for  although  I  have  cor- 
responded with  Miss  Barrett  these  five  or  six  years,  I  have  never  seen  her 
to  this  day.  Nor  have  I  been  nearer  to  doing  so  than  talking  to  her  father 
and  sisters. 

"  1  am  of  the  same  opinion  as  Miss  Barrett  about  '  the  Raven,'  and  it 
also  seems  to  me  that  the  poet  intends  to  represent  a  very  painful  con- 
dition [of]  mind,  as  of  an  imagination  that  was  liable  to  topple  over  into 
some  delirium,  or  an  abyss  of  melancholy,  from  the  continuity  of  one  un- 
varied emotion." 

95 


96 


THE  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER 

THE  BOOKE  OF  THE  COMMON  PRAIER 
AND  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SACRA- 
MENTES,  AND  OTHER  RITES  AND  CERE- 
MONIES OF  THE  CHURCHE.  After  the  use 
of  the  Chui'che  of  Englande.  Londini,  in  offieina  Rich- 
ardi  Graftoni.  Anno  Domini.  M.D.XLIX.  Mense 
i\Iartij.  Colophon  Excusum  Londini,  in  edibus  Rich- 
ardi  Graftoni  Regij  Impressoris.  Mense  Junij  M.D.- 
XLIX.   Cum  priuilegio  ad  imprimendum  folum. 

Folio,  black  morocco,  blind  tooling,  gilt  on  the  rough,  some  leaves 
mended.  $750.00 

We  know  very  little  about  the  preparation  of  the  book.  An  Act,  dated 
January  22,  1549,  entitled  "  An  Act  for  imiformity  of  Service  and  Ad- 
ministration of  the  Sacraments  throughout  the  Realm,"  speaks  of  the  com- 
missioners who  had  been  appointed,  and  had  first  met  at  Windsor  in  May, 
1548,  as  follows:  "Wjereof  His  Highness  by  the  most  prudent  advice  .  .  . 
to  the  intent  a  uniform,  quiet,  and  godly  order  should  be  had  concerning 
the  premises,  hath  appointed  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  certain 
of  the  most  learned  and  discreet  Bishops,  and  other  learned  men  of  this 
realm  to  consider  and  ponder  the  premises."  The  same  Act  goes  on  to 
say  "  the  which  at  this  time  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  with  one  uni- 
form agreement  is  of  them  concluded,  set  forth  and  delivered  to  his  high- 
ness, to  his  great  comfort  and  quietness  of  mind,  in  a  book  entitled, 

"  '  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  Administration  of  the  Sacraments, 
and  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Church,  after  the  use  of  the  Church 
in  England.'" 

From  the  requirements  of  its  use,  we  may  infer  that  the  edition  must 
have  been  a  large  one.  We  are  sure  of  the  price  of  the  volume  from  the 
following  note,  added  at  the  end  of  the  book:  "The  Kynges  Msdestie,  by 
the  aduyse  of  his  moste  deare  uncle  the  Lorde  Protector  and  other  his 
highnes  Counsell,  streightly  chargeth  and  commaundeth,  that  no  maner  of 
person  do  sell  this  present  booke  unbounde,  aboue  the  price  of  .ii.  Shyl- 
lynges  the  piece.  And  the  same  bound  in  paste  or  in  boordes,  not  aboue 
the  price  of  three  shylleynges  and  foure  pence  the  piece.  God  saue  the 
Kyng."  The  price  differs  in  different  volumes.  A  copy  of  Oswen's  May 
24th  issue  sets  the  price  at  two  shillings  and  twopence  for  unbound  copies, 
and  three  shillings  eightpence  for  bound  copies. 

All  issues  of  this  edition  differ  more  or  less  in  general  style  and  appear- 
ance. The  most  marked  dissimilarity  in  the  volumes  issued  by  the  London 
printers  lies  in  the  special  woodcut  title-page  used  by  each,  Grafton's 
beautiful  border  (repeated  for  "A  Table"  and  "Kalendar")  shows,  above 
a  Doric  frieze  supported  by  pilasters,  a  view  of  the  Council  Chamber  with 
King  Edward,  surrounded  by  his  advisers,  and  at  the  bottom  the  printer's 
pimning  mark,  on  a  shield  upheld  by  two  angels.  It  is  as  fine  a  piece  of 
work  as  anything  of  the  period.  Grafton  afterward  used  the  same  border 
for  his  edition  of  "  A  Concordance  of  the  Bible,"  printed  in  1550.  The 
Whitchurch  copies  have  a  woodcut  border  very  similar  in  character  to 
those  in  use  twenty  years  later,  which  have  the  appearance  of  being  re- 
lated to  some  of  the  borders  drawn  for  Plantin.  This  border  consists  of 
caryatides  representing  Roman  soldiers  with  shields,  supporting  the  royal 
coat-of-arms,  and  below,  satyrs  and  loves  with  another  coat-of-arms  in  a 
cartouche,  and  the  initial  E  in  a  tablet  on  one  side  and  W  on  the  other. 

97 


WILLIAM   HICKLING   PRESCOTT 

(1796-1859) 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU. 

[Three  lines.]  By  William  H.  Prescott.  [Two  lines, 
Quotations.]  In  Two  Volumes.  Vol.  I.  Xew  York: 
Harper  &  Brothers,  82  Cliff  Street.    MDCCCXLVII. 

2  vols.,  8vo,  original  black  cloth,  uncut.  $10.00 

George  Ticknor,  in  his  life  of  Prescott,  gives  the  story  of  the  production 
of  the  History  in  the  following  words: 

"  The  composition  of  the  '  Conquest  of  Peru '  was  therefore,  finished 
within  the  time  he  had  set  for  it  a  year  previously,  and  the  work  being 
put  to  press  without  delay,  the  printing  was  completed  in  the  latter  part 
of  March,  1847,  about  two  years  and  nine  months  from  the  day  when  he 
first  put  pen  to  paper.  It  made  just  a  thousand  pages,  exclusive  of  the 
Appendix,  and  was  stereotyped  under  the  careful  correction  and  sujier- 
vision  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Folsom,  of  Cambridge. 

"While  it  was  passing  through  the  press,  or  just  as  the  stereotyjiing 
was  fairly  begun,  he  made  a  contract  with  the  Messrs.  Harper  to  pay  for 
seven  thousand  five  hundred  copies  on  the  day  of  publication  at  the  rate  of 
one  dollar  a  copy,  to  be  sold  within  two  years,  and  to  continue  to  publish 
at  the  same  rate  afterwards,  or  to  surrender  the  contract  to  the  author 
at  his  pleasure;  terms,  I  suppose,  more  liberal  than  had  ever  been  offered 
for  a  work  of  grave  history  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  In  London  it 
was  published  by  Mr.  Bentley,  who  purchased  the  copyright  for  eight 
hundred  pounds,  under  the  kind  auspices  of  Colonel  Aspinwall;  again  a 
large  sum,  as  it  was  already  doubtful  whether  an  exclusive  privilege  could 
be  legally  maintained  in  Great  Britain  by  a  foreigner." 

The  demand  for  the  book  was  large:  in  five  months  five  thousand  copies 
were  sold  in  America,  and  an  edition  of  half  that  number  sold  in  Eng- 
land. By  January  1,  1860,  there  had  been  sold  of  the  American  and 
English  editions  together,  16,965  copies.  It  was  translated  into  Spanish, 
French,  German,  and  Dutch,  and  in  the  Preface  will  be  found  a  reference 
to  M.  Amedee  Pichot's  French  translation  of  the  "  Conquest  of  Mexico." 

In  the  preparation  of  the  "  History  of  Peru "  Prescott  had  the  advan- 
tage of  being  able  to  use  the  manuscript  collections  that  he  had  access  to 
in  writing  his  "  Conquest  of  Mexico,"  the  mass  of  unpublished  documents 
formerly  in  the  possession  of  Lord  Kingsborough,  and  other  original  materials 
collected  at  great  expense  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  He  also  had 
the  advantage  of  access  to  many  rare  works  and  curious  manuscripts  which 
had  been  purchased  by  Mr.  George  Ticknor,  in  Spain,  for  his  own  library, 
and  the  unpublished  documents  of  priceless  value  which  had  been  collected 
from  all   available   quarters. 

At  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the  "  Conquest  of  Peru,"  Maria  Edge- 
worth  wrote  to  W.  H.  Prescott:  "I  admire  your  adherence  to  your 
principle  of  giving  evidence  in  your  notes  and  appendixes  for  your  own 
accuracy,  and  allowing  your  own  opinions  to  be  rejudged  by  your  readers 
in  furnishing  them  with  the  means  of  judging  which  they  could  not  other- 
wise procure,  and  which  you,  having  obtained  with  so  much  labor  and  so 
much  favor  from  high  and  closed  sources,  bring  before  us  gratis  with  such 
unostentatious  candor  and  humility. 

"  I  admire  and  favor,  too,  your  practice  of  mixing  biography  with  his- 
tory; genuine  sayings  and  letters  by  which  the  individuals  give  their  own 
character  and  their  own  portraits." 

98 


THE   RAMBLER 

THE  RAJNIBLER.  Motto.  London:  Printed  for 
J.  Payne,  and  J.  Bouquet,  in  Pater-Noster-Row. 
MDCCLI. 

2  vols.,  4to,  half  calf,  sprinkled  edges.  $65.00 

The  First  Edition,  bound  from  the  original  numbers.  In  the  winter 
of  1749  Johnson  formed  a  club  which  met  weekly  at  a  famous  "  beef- 
steak house"  in  Ivy  Lane.  This  gave  Johnson  an  opportunity  of  display- 
ing and  improving  his  great  conversational  powers.  The  talk  here  prob- 
ably suggested  topics  for  The  Rambler,  which  appeared  at  this  time 
and  caused  Johnson's  fame  to  spread  further  beyond  the  literary  circles 
of  London.  In  only  five  numbers  did  he  receive  assistance  from  friends. 
As  to  the  name,  Boswell  reports :  "  He  gave  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  its  getting  this  name:  'What  must  be  done,  sir,  will 
be  done.  When  I  was  to  begin  publishing  that  paper,  I  was  at  a  loss 
how  to  name  it.  I  sat  down  at  night  upon  my  bedside  and  resolved  that 
I  would  not  go  to  sleep  till  I  had  fixed  its  title.  The  Rambler  seemed 
the  best  that  occurred,  and  I  took  it.'  "  The  Rambler  was  published  twice 
a  week,  on  Tuesdays  and  Saturdays  from  March  20,  1750,  to  March 
14,  1752.  After  publication  in  book  form  ten  editions  were  gotten  out  in 
England  during  Johnson's  lifetime,  and  there  were  also  editions  published 
in   Scotland   and   Ireland. 

Johnson  received  two  guineas  a  number,  and  the  publication  brought 
him  many  intimate  friends,  among  them  Dr.  Burney,  the  father  of  Fanny 
Burney,  who  has  put  on  record  some  of  his  recollections  of  this  period: 
"  The  Ramblers  certainly  were  little  noticed  at  first.  Smart,  the  poet,  first 
mentioned  them  to  me  as  excellent  papers,  before  I  had  heard  anyone  else 
speak  of  them.  When  I  went  to  Norfolk,  in  the  autumn  of  1751,  I  found 
but  one  person  .  .  .  who  knew  anything  of  them.  But  he  had  been  mis- 
informed concerning  the  true  author.  .  .  .  Before  I  left  Norfolk,  in  the 
year  1760,  the  Ramblers  were  in  high  favour  among  persons  of  learning 
and  good  taste.  Others  there  were  devoid  of  both  who  said  that  the 
hard  words  in  The  Rambler  were  used  by  the  author  to  render  his  Dic- 
tionary indispensably  necessary." 

The  following  appears  in  Fanny  Burney's  Memoir  of  Dr.  Burney:  "Mr. 
Burney  was  one  of  the  first  and  most  fervent  admirers  of  those  luminous 
periodical  essays  under  the  vague  and  inadequate  titles  of  The  Rambler 
and   The  Idler.     He  took  them  both  in;  he  read  them  to  all  his   friends." 

Boswell  wrote  of  it:  "  I  have  heard  him  [Johnson]  relate,  with  much 
satisfaction  that  several  of  the  characters  in  The  Rambler  were  drawn  so 
naturally  that  when  it  first  circulated  in  numbers  a  club  in  one  of  the 
towns  in  Essex  imagined  themselves  to  be  severally  exhibited  in  it,  and 
were  much  incensed  against  a  person  who  they  suspected  had  thus  made 
them  objects  of  public  notice." 

The  pajiers  were  written  in  great  haste,  but  carefully  revised  for  the 
collected  editions.  Chalmers  says,  on  the  authority  of  Nicholson,  the  pub- 
lisher, that  there  were  six  thousand  corrections  in  the  second  and  third 
editions. 

The  Rambler  attracted  little  notice  at  first,  though  Johnson  was  gratified 
by  his  wife's  declaration  that  he  had  surpassed  even  her  expectations. 
The  sale  is  said  to  have  barely  exceeded  five  hundred,  the  only  one  which 
had  a  '  prosperous  sale '  being  No.  97,  which  was  written  by  Samuel 
Richardson,  the  author  of  "  Clari.ssa  Harlowe."  As  the  price  was  only 
twopence,   the   profits   cannot  have   been   large. 

Johnson  wrote  the  whole  except  No.  10,  partly  by  Mr.  Chapone,  No.  30 
bv  Miss  Catherine  Talbot,  Nos.  44  and  100  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Carter. 

99 


REFLEXIONS 

O    V 

SENTENCES 

E   T 

MAXIMES 

MORALES. 


A     PARIS, 

Chez  Cl  AvoE  B  A  RB  i>r,  vis  a  va 

Ic  Porcail  de  la  Sainre  ChapcUc, 

au  fignc  de  la  Croix. 

M.    DC.    LXV. 
uirEC  PRiriLEGE  DK  ROT. 


100 


FRANCOIS  DUC  DE  LA   ROCHE- 
FOUCAULD 

(1613-1680) 

REFLEXIONS  OU  SENTENCES  ET  MAX- 
IMES  MORALES.  [Vignette.]  A  Paris,  chez 
Claude  Barbin,  vis-a-vis  le  Portail  de  la  Sainte  Cha- 
pelle,  au  signe  de  la  Croix.  MDCLXV.  Avec  Privi- 
lege du  Roy. 

ISmo,  frontispiece,  full  crushed  levant  morocco^  gilt  on  the  rough, 
by  Chambolle-Duru.  $125.00 

The  First  Edition  and  very  scarce.  Francois  de  Marcillac,  Duke  de  la 
Rochefoucaiild,  was  born,  in  1613,  of  one  of  the  noblest  families  in  France. 
For  many  years  he  was  known  as  the  Prince  de  Marcillac.  His  education 
was  meagre,  as  he  joined  the  army  at  an  early  age  and  was  then  introduced 
to  Court  life,  in  which  he  played  a  prominent  part. 

The  first  edition  of  the  "  Maximes "  appeared  in  1065,  and  four  others 
were  published  during  the  lifetime  of  the  author.  After  his  death  a  sixth 
edition  came  out  in  1693,  containing  some  fifty  new  maxims,  the  authen- 
ticity of  which  is  rather  uncertain,  though  the  edition  is  considered  an 
important  one.  It  is  said  that  he  gave  five  years  to  gather  his  maxims 
together,  and  fifteen  years  to  rehandling  and  polishing  every  phrase.  There 
is  nothing  qiiite  like  this  volume  in  any  other  literature.  It  embodies  years 
of  experience,  observation,  culture,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  world 
and  its  people,  and  all  expressed  in  a  volume  of  comparatively  small  size. 

In  considering  the  "  Maximes,"  their  scepticism  and  their  cynicism,  the 
career  of  the  author  should  be  taken  into  consideration,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  in  the  main  they  merely  reflect  the  opinions  of  a  man  who  was 
generally  unlucky,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  usually  irresolute 
in  his  actions.  Misfortunes  often  make  the  sufferer  take  a  biased  view  of 
life  and  conduct.  Ill  adapted  by  his  slight  early  education  to  involve  him- 
self in  the  policies  of  government,  he  yet  threw  himself  boldly  into  intrigues, 
ambitiously  aiming  at  leading  an  important  part  against  men  more  prac- 
tised than  himself  in  scheming  and  Machiavellism.  He  took  the  side  of 
the  Fronde,  and  fought  in  many  of  the  battles,  being  so  seriously  wounded 
in  the  siege  of  Paris  that  it  was  thought  he  would  not  recover.  The  re- 
sult of  this  intrigue  and  warring  was  that  he  lost  the  greater  part  of  his 
fortune,  seriously  impaired  his  health,  and  found  himself  completely  set 
aside  by  Mazarin  and  his  associates.  His  failures  are  reflected  in  his  "  Max- 
imes," although  this  detracts  in  no  way  from  their  value  in  literature,  only 
in  a  dispassionate  consideration  it  must  be  taken  into  account. 

The  "  Maximes  "  are  unsurpassed  in  French  literature,  and  equalled  per- 
haps by  no  similar  work  in  the  literature  of  any  other  country  for  tJieir 
epigrammatic  quality,  their  originality,  and  exquisite  style.  They  rank 
among  the  small  number  of  books  which  are  carried  in  one's  pocket  to  be 
read  and  re-read  with  ever-increasing  admiration  and  deligiit.  They  were 
communicated  to  his  friends  at  the  time,  and  were  even  made  public  with- 
out being  actually  published.  They  were  very  much  in  vogue  among  fash- 
ionable salons,  and  raved  over  by  all  "  Les  Precieuscs  Uidicules."  La 
Rochefoucauld  owed  his  first  successes  to  the  Duchcsse  de  Chevreuse,  and 
was  supi)Osed  to  have  collaborated  with  Mme.  de  La  Fayette  as  she  said  of 
him:  "I  have  to  thank  him  for  mv  wit,  but  it  is  I  who  have  regenerated 
his  heart." 

101 


SAMUEL  RICHARDSON 

(1689-1761) 

CLARISSA;  OR,  THE  HISTORY  OF  A 
YOUNG  LADY.  [Six  lines.]  Published  by  the 
Editor  of  "  Pamela."  Vol.1.  London:  Printed  for  S. 
Richardson;  and  sold  by  A.  Millar,  over-against  Cath- 
arine Street,  in  the  Strand;  J.  and  Ja.  Rivington,  in 
St.  Paul's  Churchyard;  John  Osborn,  in  Pater-Noster- 
Row;  and  by  J.  Leake,  at  Bath.    MDCCXLVIII. 

7  vols.,  l6mo,  contemporary  calf.  $40.00 

The  First  Edition.  "  Pamela "  was  written  at  the  suggestion  of  two 
booksellers,  Rivington  and  Osborn,  who  published  it  in  four  volumes  in 
1741-42,  and  as  it  proved  a  great  success  its  "  Editor "  followed  it  with 
"  Clarissa."  Only  the  last  five  volumes  appeared  in  1748,  the  first  two 
having  come  out  the  previous  year. 

In  connection  with  the  mistaken  idea,  which  has  existed  that  there  were 
eight  volumes  in  the  first  edition,  Mr.  Dobson,  in  his  life  of  Richardson, 
gives  us  these  quotations  from  the  author  himself: 

"  I  take  the  liberty  to  join  the  4  Vols,  you  have  of  Clarissa,  by  two  more," 
says  Richardson  to  Hill  in  an  unpublished  letter  of  November  7,  1748. 
"  The  Whole  will  make  Seven ;  that  is,  one  more  to  attend  these  two. 
Eight  crowded  into  Seven  by  a  smaller  Type.  Ashamed  as  I  am  of  the 
Prolixity,  I  thought  I  owed  the  Public  Eight  Vols,  in  Quantity  for  the 
Price  of  Seven."  He  adds  a  later  footnote  to  explain  that  the  12mo  book 
"was  at  first  published  in  Seven  Vols,  [and]  Afterwards  by  deferred  Res- 
torations made  Eight  as  now."  Then  Mr.  Dobson  goes  on  to  add  the 
following: 

"Of  the  seven  volumes  constituting  the  first  edition,  two  were  issued  in 
November,  1747;  two  more  in  April,  1748  (making  'the  4  Vols,  you  have,' 
above  referred  to) ;  and  the  remaining  three,  which  according  to  Mr.  Ur- 
ban's  advertisement,  '  compleats  the  whole,'  in  December,  1748." 

The  second  and  succeeding  volumes  have  the  line,  "  And  Sold  by  John 
Osborn,  in  Pater-noster  Row,"  added  to  the  imprint,  after  Richardson's 
name. 

Bishop  Warburton  presented  the  author  with  a  preface  in  which  he 
pointed  out  the  variety  of  the  characters  in  the  book,  and  commended  the 
moral  tendency  of  the  work.  This,  by  the  way,  serves  to  remind  one  that 
he  afterward  quarrelled  with  Richardson  because  the  novelist  ventured  to 
censure  Pope's  sentiment,  "  Every  woman  is  at  heart  a  rake." 

In  a  catalogue  like  this  no  name  has  more  interest  than  that  of  Sam- 
uel Richardson,  "  The  Father  of  the  English  Novel,"  and  a  printer  and 
publisher  of  distinction.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  chose  the  profession 
of  printer,  because  he  thought  that  in  it  he  would  be  able  to  satisfy  his 
craving  for  reading.  After  a  diligent  apprenticeship  to  John  Wilde,  whose 
daughter  was  his  first  wife,  he  gradually  won  his  way  until  he  became  one 
of  the  leading  printers  of  his  time. 

"  Clarissa  Harlowe  "  eclipsed  "  Pamela,"  and  very  soon  won  for  Richard- 
son a  European  reputation.  In  1753  Richardson  says  that  he  had  received 
from  the  famous  Haller  a  translation  into  German,  and  that  a  Dutch 
translation  by  Sinstra  was  appearing.  A  French  translation  with  omission 
'  to  suit  the  delicacy  of  the  French  taste '  was  made  by  the  Abb^  Prevost, 
and  a  fuller  one  afterwards  by  Le  Tourneur.  Abridgments  of  "  Clarissa  " 
by  E,  S.  Dallas  and  one  by  Mrs.  Ward  were  published  in  England  in  1868. 

102 


JOHN   RUSKIN 

(1819-1900) 

THE  STOXES  OF  YEXICE.  Volume  the 
First.  The  Foundations.  By  John  Ruskin.  [Two 
lines.]  With  Illustrations  Dra^vn  by  the  Author.  Lon- 
don: Smith,  Elder  &  Co.,  65  Cornliill.     1851.      [-1853.] 

3  vols.^  8vo,  half  morocco,  marbled  edges.  $65.00 

The  First  Edition,  Lewis  Carroll's  [C.  L.  Dodgson]  copy  with  his  name 
on  each  title-page. 

The  illustrations  in  these  volumes  distinguish  it  from  anything  we 
have  hitherto  seen  in  our  list  of  books.  The  plates  and  cuts,  made  by 
various  processes,  mezzo-tinting,  lithography,  line  engraving,  and  wood- 
cutting, mark  most  clearly  the  advance  in  bookmaking  which  had  taken 
place  within  the  half  century.  Hitherto  we  have  had  illustrations  for 
their  own  sakes,  or  for  the  ornamentation  of  the  books  they  are  in,  and 
depending  for  their  existence  solely  upon  the  liberality  and  intelligence 
of  the  publisher;  but  here  we  have  illustrations  introduced  into  the  book 
for  the  sake  of  the  text,  of  which  they  are  an  integral  part. 

The  first  volume,  called  "  The  Foundations,"  and  having  twenty-one 
plates,  and  the  second,  called  "  The  Sea-Stories,"  with  twenty  plates,  each 
cost  two  guineas.  The  third  volume,  called  "  The  Fall,"  with  twelve 
plates,  cost  a  guinea  and  a  half.  They  were  bound  in  cloth,  stamped  in 
gold,  with  the  "  Lion  of  St.  Mark "  on  the  back.  A  few  copies  of  both 
volumes  one  and  two  were  issued  in  two  parts.  The  first  volume  ran 
into  a  second  edition  in  1858,  and  the  second  and  third  were  reissued  in 
186T. 

Ruskin  saw  Venice  crumbling  away  before  his  eyes,  and  her  pictures 
imcared  for.  He  set  himself,  before  it  was  too  late,  to  trace  the  lines  of 
her  fading  beauty,  and  as  he  said,  "  to  record  as  far  as  I  may,  the  warning 
which  seems  to  me  to  be  uttered  by  every  one  of  the  fast-gaining  waves 
that  beat,  like  passing  bells  against  the  '  Stones  of  Venice.'  The  book, 
which  was  fully  illustrated  by  the  author,  cost  him  an  infinity  of  labor, 
of  which  he  has  left  several  records  in  his  letters.  "  I  went  through  so 
much  hard,  dry  mechanical  toil  at  Venice,"  he  writes  to  Charles  Eliot  Nor- 
ton, "  that  I  quite  lost,  before  I  left  it,  the  charm  of  the  place."  The 
"  Stones  of  Venice,"  and  the  second  volume  of  "  Modern  Painters,"  gave  an 
impetus  to  many  art  movements  of  the  day. 

Such  were  the  Arundel  Society,  which  did  much  to  preserve  records  of 
the  wall  paintings  of  Italy;  and  the  Society  for  the  Preservation  of  An- 
cient Buildings,  which  may  be  said  to  have  taken  as  its  motto  Ruskin's 
words:  "Do  not  let  us  talk  of  restoration;  the  theory  is  a  Ue  from  begin- 
ning to  end."  The  gist  of  "Stones  of  Venice"  was  the  chapter  VI,  in  vol. 
II  "  On  the  Nature  of  Gothic  Architecture,"  and  herein  of  the  true  func- 
tions of  the  workman  in  art.  This  chapter  struck  an  answering  chord  in 
William  Morris,  and  a  reprint  of  the  chapter  was  one  of  the  productions 
of  the  Kehnsroll  l-'renH.  With  regard  to  this  book,  Ruskin  often  com- 
plained that  no  one  ever  believed  a  word  of  his  moral  lesson  deduced  from 
the  history  of  Venice  as  recorded  in  her  monuments,  but  there  has  never 
been  more  than  one  oi)inion  about  the  noble  eloquence  and  haunting  beauty 
of  the  descriptive  passages,  or  about  tlie  permanent  value  of  "  Stones  of 
Venice." 

In  later  editions  the  plates  were  touched  up,  and  it  is  an  important  mat- 
ter to  get  the  first  edition  in  consequence. 

103 


PAUL 

E  T 

V   I   R  G  I  N  I  E, 

Par    JAC  QU  ES-B  EH  N  ARD  1  N-H  £  N  R  r 

DE    SAINT -PIERRE. 

AVEC     FIOURES, 

...  Miseris succurrere  discx).  ;Eneid,  lib.  i. 
Prix ,  papier  ecu  fin  d'Essone,  4  Hv. 


A    PARIS, 

DE   L'lMPRIMEllIE    DE   MONSIEUR. 

M.      D   C  C.     L  X  X  S  I   X. 
AVEC    APrnODATlOS,    JET    PRlVJLh'JS   DU    noi. 


104 


JACQUES  BERNARDIN  HENRI  DE 
SAINT-PIERRE 

(1737-1814) 

PAUL    ET    VIRGINIE,    PAR    JACQUES- 
BERN  ARDIN— HENRI,  DE  SAINT-PIERRE. 

Avec  Figures.  [Motto.]  Prix,  papier  ecu  frie  d'Es- 
sone,  4  liv.  [Vignette.]  A  Paris:  de  L'Imprimerie  de 
Monsieui*.  MDCCXXXIX.  Avec  Approbation,  et 
Privilege  du  Roi.     Frontispiece  and  Illustrations. 

18mo,   full  ribbed   calf  gilt,   etc.,   etc.  $35.00 

The  First  Edition  of  this  famous  story.  Jacques  Henri  Bernardin  de 
Saint-Pierre  was  born  at  Havre  in  1737.  He  was  an  engineer  by  profes- 
sion, and  in  pursuit  of  work  along  that  line  and  following  his  own  in- 
clinations as  well  he  wandered  to  many  parts  of  the  world.  Nor  did  he 
always  stick  to  his  profession,  as  we  find  him  in  Paris  as  a  professor  of 
mathematics,  a  journalist  in  Amsterdam,  an  officer  at  St.  Petersburg,  and 
an  insurgent  in  Poland.  He  finally  settled  in  Paris,  where  he  published 
a  large  number  of  books,  of  which  "Paul  and  Virginia"  is  by  far  the 
best  known. 

During  his  travels  he  had  met  Rousseau,  and  had  imbibed  much  of  his 
sentinientalism. 

His  "  Paul  et  Virginie "  was  foreshadowed  in  his  account  of  a  trip  to 
the  lie  de  France,  or  Mauritius,  where  he,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  was 
a  captain  of  engineers.  Some  of  the  episodes  related  in  this  book,  which 
was  issued  in  1773,  are  practically  the  same  as  are  narrated  jn  "  Paul  et 
Virginie."  In  1788  he  published  the  fourth  volume  of  his  "  Etudes  de  la 
Nature,"  which  contained  "  Paul  et  Virginie."  This  was  immediately  issued 
as  a  separate  volume  and  reprinted  again  and  again. 

Sainte-Beuve  has  told  the  story  that  once  at  Madame  Necker's  "  Ber- 
nardin de  Saint-Pierre,  then  hardly  known,  tried  to  read  '  Paul  ct  Virginie.' 
It  is  a  simple  story,  and  the  reader's  voice  trembled;  everybody  else 
j'awned,  and,  after  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  M.  de  Buifon,  who  had  a  loud 
voice,  called  out  to  the  footman:  'Tell  them  to  put  the  horses  to  my 
carriage! '  " 

His  character  was  summed  up  by  Arsene  Houssaye  in  the  following 
words:  "A  vagabond  philosopher  somewhat  in  the  style  of  Rousseau.  To- 
day he  struts  in  the  Palais  Royal  of  abstractedness,  with  the  air  and  gait 
of  a  Lord.  A  year  later  you  may  find  him  on  the  Congo,  living  among 
the  natives  in  their  own  manner.  Equally  he  is  a  good  follow  well  met 
with  misery  or  plenty,  taking  all  things  as  they  come  with  philoso])hical 
resignation,  and  often  worldly  procrastination,  so  long  as  he  was  left  with 
his  plants  and  his  books." 

Of  the  many  sentimental  novels  similar  to  "  Paul  et  Virginie "  issued  at 
the  time  scarcely  one  is  read  to-day  and  the  names  of  most  of  them  are 
forgotten.  Paul  and  Virginia,  however,  is  still  read;  the  names  are  house- 
hold words,  publishers  continue  to  issue  editions  of  it  and  artists  to  draw 
on  it  for  subjects.  Such  evidence  is  the  best  testimony  of  its  jiosition  in 
literature.  There  are  two  marked  facts  about  it — tlie  sweetness  of 
the  story  and  the  simplicity  of  its  style,  the  latter  l)eing  of  such  a  char- 
acter that  the  veriest  tyro  in  the  French  language  can  commence  his  prac- 
tice in  reading  the  literature  of  that  country  with  this  book. 

10.') 


GEORGE  SAND 

[ARMANTINE    LUCILE    AURORE    DUDE- 
VANT,   nee   DUPIN] 

(1804-1876) 

LA    FILLEULE.      Par    George    Sand.      Paris: 
Alexandre  Cadot,  Editeur,  37  Rue  Serpente,  1855. 

4  vols.,  8vo,  original  paper  covers,  uncut.  $25.00 

The  First  Edition  of  this  famous  book.  Armantine  Lucile  Aurore  Dupin, 
called  George  Sand,  was  born  at  Paris  on  July  1,  1804,  and  died  at  Nohant 
June  7,  1876.  In  1821  she  married  Casimir  Dudevant.  Their  happiness 
lasted  for  about  two  years;  their  married  life  about  ten.  After  this  her 
writing  brought  her  into  contact  with  some  of  the  most  famous  men  of  her 
time,  among  whom  were  Alfred  de  Musset,  Dumas  and  Flaubert. 

Her  novels  number  about  fifty,  and  she  wrote  many  plays,  essays,  letters, 
and  political  articles. 

"  George  Sand  was  the  frank  and  free  daughter  of  the  Romantic  Move- 
ment. Though  she  bowed  the  knee  of  allegiance  to  Jean  Jacques,  though 
she  willingly  wore  the  golden  fetters  of  Byronism,  as  Byronism  was  under- 
stood in  France,  she  eagerly  shook  off  all  the  restraints  which  controlled 
the  life  and  literature  of  the  classic  age.  Her  earliest  passion  was  revolt 
against  sex,  against  usage,  against  tradition.  She  must  needs  wear  the 
trousers  because  the  petticoat  was  the  ordained  garb  of  woman.  .  .  .  She 
had  one  gift  that  is  essential  to  the  prophet  of  romanticism, — a  ceaseless 
and  unending  facility.  She  wrote  as  easily  and  as  naturally  as  simple 
Avomen  darn  stockings.  From  the  moment  when  a  difference  with  her 
husband  drove  her  to  work   for  bread,  the  impulse  never  waned." 

George  Sand  could  write  a  novel  while  Flaubert  was  hunting  for  one 
exact  word,  and  De  Musset  exclaimed :  "  I  work  all  day,  and  by  the  evening 
I  have  written  ten  lines,  and  drunk  a  bottle  of  eau  de  vie;  and  she — she 
Tias  drunk  two  quarts  of  milk  and  written  half  a  volume." 

The  origin  of  her  nom-de-plume  is  a  pretty  story.  After  running  away 
from  her  husband,  Lieutenant  Dudevant,  she  went  to  Paris  and  tried  vari- 
ous occupations  without  much  success.  Here,  however,  she  met  Jules  San- 
deau.  Together  they  wrote  and  published  their  first  book  "  Rose  at 
Blanche,"  under  the  name  of  Jules  Sand,  in  1831.  It  fell  practically  still- 
born, but  a  copy  by  chance  getting  into  the  hands  of  M.  Roret,  the  pub- 
lisher, he  was  irnpressed  by  certain  passages  and  made  enquiries  as  to  the 
author.  He  was  directed  to  a  humble  little  apartment  where  he  found  a 
young  man  writing  at  a  table,  and  beside  him  a  young  woman  making 
colored  drawings  of  flowers.  They  were  Jules  Sandeau  and  Madame  Dude- 
vant. They  acknowledged  the  book,  but  as  it  was  not  a  financial  success 
she  had  been  glad  to  accept  employment  in  painting  to  add  to  their  slender 
means.  He  found  that  Madame  Dudevant  had  written  the  greater  part 
of  "  Rose  et  Blanche,"  and  had  completed  another  story  entirely  her  own, 
of  which  she  showed  the  publisher  the  manuscript.  Looking  it  over  he 
thought  he  saw  possibilities  in  it  and  purchased  it,  and  the  question  then 
arose  under  what  name  to  issue  it.  Madame  Dudevant  wished  for  the 
-first  name  Jules  Sand,  to  be  retained,  but  Sandeau  who  had  not  written 
a  line  of  it  objected,  and  a  discussion  ensued.  The  publisher,  however, 
made  a  suggestion.  "  Sand  "  he  said  is  a  common  enough  name,  why  not 
change  the  Christian  name.  This  is  St.  George's  Day,  why  not  call  yourself 
"George  Sand."  The  suggestion  was  accepted,  and  thus  all  her  future 
books  were  written  imder  this  pseudonym.  The  manuscript  in  question 
was  Indiana. 

106 


SIR  WALTER   SCOTT 

(1771-1832) 

KENILWORTH:  A  ROMANCE.  By  the  Au- 
thor of  "  Waverley,"  "  Ivanhoe,"  etc.  [^Motto.]  In 
Three  Volumes.  Vol.  I.  Edinburgh:  Printed  for 
Archibald  Constable  &  Co.,  and  John  Ballantyne,  Edin- 
burgh; and  Hurst,  Robinson  &  Co.,  London,  1821. 

3  vols.,  12mo,  original  boards,  uncut,  with  paper  label.         $30.00 

The  First  Edition.  This  noted  novel  appeared  in  January,  1821,  or  just 
at  Christmas  time  in  1820.  Constable  suggested  the  subject,  that  is,  the 
introduction,  of  Queen  Elizabeth  as  a  companion  to  the  Mary  Stuart  of 
"The  Abbot,"  which  had  just  appeared.  The  proposed  title  was  "The 
Armada."  Scott  himself  wished  to  call  the  novel  "  Cumnor  Hall,"  but  in 
deference  to  Constable's  wishes  substituted  "  Kenilworth."  John  Ballan- 
tj'ne  objected  to  this  title,  and  told  Constable  the  result  would  be  "some- 
thing worthy  of  the  kennel,"  but  Constable  had  good  reason  to  be  satisfied. 
Cadell  said  of  him:  "His  vanity  boiled  over  so  much  at  this  time,  on  hav- 
ing his  suggestion  gone  into,  that,  when  in  his  high  moods,  he  used  to  stalk 
up  and  down  his  room,  and  exclaim:  'By  G — ,  I  am  all  but  the  author 
of  the  Waverley  Novels ! ' "  Scott's  fortunes  are  so  inseparably  connected 
with  Constable  that  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  a  word  concerning  him. 
By  his  liberality  to  writers,  Constable  transformed  the  publishing  business, 
and  practically  put  it  upon  a  new  basis.  He  made  it  possible  for  authors 
to  do  away  with  aristocratic  patrons  and  stand  upon  their  own  merits. 
Scott  had  good  reason  to  say,  even  after  his  disastrous  participation  in 
Constable  &  Co.'s  failure:  "  Never  did  there  exist  so  intelligent  and  liberal 
an  establishment." 

"  Kenilworth  "  was  one  of  the  most  successful  of  all  the  novels.  It  was 
reviewed  at  once  in  the  Quarterly:  "Though  'Kenilworth'  must  rank  high 
among  his  works,  we  think  it  inferior,  as  a  whole  to  his  other  tragedies  .  .  , 
both  in  material  and  construction." 

The  Edinburffh  Review  found  more  to  praise,  saying  that  it  "  rises 
almost,  if  not  altogether,  to  the  level  of  '  Ivanhoe,'  displaying,  perhaps,  as 
much  power  in  assembling  together,  and  distributing  in  striking  groups,  the 
copious  historical  materials  of  that  romantic  age,  as  the  other  does  in  eking 
out  their  scantiness  by  the  riches  of  the  author's  imagination." 

Charlotte  Bronte  wrote:  "  I  am  glad  you  like  '  Kenilworth.'  It  is  cer- 
tainly a  splendid  production,  more  resemljling  a  romance  than  a  novel. 
...  I  was  exceedingly  amused  at  the  characteristic  and  naive  manner  in 
which  you  exjiressed  your  detestation  of  Varney's  character — so  much  so, 
indeed,  that  I  could  not  forbear  laughing  aloud  when  I  perused  that  part 
of  your  letter.  He  is  certainly  the  personification  of  consummate  villainy; 
and  in  the  delineation  of  his  dark  and  profoundly  artful  mind  Scott  ex- 
hibits a  wonderful  knowledge  of  human  nature  as  well  as  surprising  skill 
in  embodying  his  perceptions  so  as  to  enable  others  to  become  participators 
in  that  knowledge." 

In  1879  Edward  Fitzgerald  wrote  to  Fanny  Kemble:  "  I — we — have  fin- 
ished all  Sir  Walter's  Scotch  novels,  and  I  thought  I  would  try  an  English 
one:  'Kenilworth' — a  wonderful  Drama,  which  Theatre,  Opera,  and  Ballet 
(as  I  once  saw  it  represented)  may  well  reproduce.  The  Scene  at  Green- 
wich, where  I'.lizabeth  '  interviews'  Sussex  and  Leicester,  seemed  to  me  as 
fine  as  what  is  called  (I  am  told,  wrongly)  'Shakespeare's  Henry  VIII.' 
Of  course,  plentv  of  melodrama  in  most  other  i)arts: — but  the  Plot  won- 
derful." 

107 


COVNTESSE 

OF  PEMBROKES 

ARCADIA, 

WRITTEN    BY  SIR  PHILIPPE 
SIDNEL 


LONDON 
Printed  for  William  Po!ifonbie« 


lOS 


SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY 

(1554-1586) 

THE  COUNTESSE  OF  PEMBROKES  AR- 
CADIA. Written  By  Sir  Philippe  Sidnei.  Coat  of 
Ai'iiis  of  the  Sidney  family.  London.  Printed  for 
William  Ponsonbie.     Anno  Domini,  1590. 

Small  4to,  full  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  on  the  rough,  special 
tooling,  by  Riviere  &  Son.  $750.00 

The  First  Edition.  This  copy  has  title,  dedication,  and  two  leaves  in 
facsimile,  but  it  contains  the  rare  blank  leaf  before  the  title-page,  usually 
missing.  It  also  has  a  few  mends  on  some  of  the  other  leaves.  Of  the 
excessive  rarity  of  this  book  there  is  no  question.  Cojiies  are  now  in  the 
British  Museum;  Capell  collection;  Cambridge;  F.  R.  Halsey,  New  York; 
the  late  Robert  Hoe,  New  York;  Henry  Huth,  London;  the  late  E. 
Dwight  Church,  Brooklyn,  while  the  Locker-Lampson  copy  was  sold  in 
London  two  years  ago  at  the  Van  Antwerp  sale,  and  was  bought  by  Ber- 
nard Quaritch  for  £315.     Last  year  a  copy  sold  in  London  for  £450. 

Queen  Elizabeth  having  visited  Sidney  with  her  displeasure  in  1580,  on 
his  argument  against  her  proposed  marriage  with  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  he 
withdrew  from  the  court  and  went  to  stay  at  Wilton  with  his  sister,  the 
Countess  of  Pembroke,  where  he  remained  for  the  rest  of  that  year.  Sidney 
occupied  the  hours  of  his  forced  idleness  by  writing  for  the  amusement  of 
his  sister  a  long  pastoral  romance,  in  prose  and  verse  after  the  Italian 
fashion.  His  dedication  to  his  sister  is  considered  to  be  the  most  perfect 
ever  written. 

The  "  Arcadia  "  was  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  "  Arcadia "  of 
Sanazarro,  a  Neapolitan  poet  who  died  in  the  year  1530.  It  was  done  at 
his  sister's  wish,  and  as  he  wrote  to  her :  "  Only  for  you,  only  to  you.  .  .  . 
For  indeed,  for  severer  eyes  it  is  not,  being  but  a  trifle,  and  that  triflingly 
handled.  Your,  dear,  self  can  best  witness  the  manner,  being  done  in 
loose  sheets  of  paper,  most  of  it  in  your  presence,  the  rest  by  sheets  sent 
unto  you  as  fast  as  they  were  done." 

The  "  Arcadia,"  though  begun  in  1590,  and  finished  probably  before 
1583,  was  circulated  in  manuscript  amongst  the  author's  friends.  It  is 
evident  from  Sidney's  aflfectionate  dedication  that  he  did  not  wish  to  have  it 
printed.  The  story  is  told  by  his  biographer,  that  when  he  lay  dying, 
reflecting  that  all  things  in  his  former  life  had  been  vain,  vain,  vain,  he 
requested  that  the  "  Arcadia "  be  burned.  But  he  counted  without  the 
public,  who  in  the  person  of  a  publisher  took  steps  to  make  it  common 
property  the  very  year  of  Sidney's  death.  This  fact  is  authenticated  in  a 
letter  to  Sir  Francis  Walsingham,  Sidney's  father-in-law.  Ponsonby  secured 
a  license  to  print  the  book,  under  the  hand  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, August  23,  1588.  It  was  prepared  for  the  press  by  his  sister,  who, 
however,  made  no  attempt  to  supply  the  gaps,  or  complete  the  unfinished 
romance.  It  will  be  noted  from  the  facsimile  title-page,  that  the  coat- 
of-arms  reproduced  is  that  of  the  Sidney  family.  The  Grenville  copy  had 
a  note  inserted  that  at  that  time  it  was  the  only  perfect  copy  known.  The 
Van  Antwerp  copy,  formerly  belonging  to  Locker-Lampson,  fetched  £315, 
the  title  being  remounted  and  remargined,  a  few  corners  mended,  the  last 
two  letters  of  the  printer's  name  and  the  last  figure  of  the  date  defective. 

In  1905  a  copy  fetched  £450,  with  blank  leaf  missing,  and  title-page 
defective.  Mr.  J.  Crosley,  whose  copy  it  was,  stated  in  1850  that  only 
three  copies  were  known,  two  of  which  were  imperfect. 

109 


PERCY  BYSSHE  SHELLEY 

(1792-1822) 
THE    REVOLT    OF    ISLAM.      A    Poem.      In 
Twelve  Cantos.     By  Percy  Bysshe  Shelley.     London: 
Printed  for  C.  and  J.  Oilier,  Welbeck  Street;  by  Bo 
M'Millan,  Bow  Street,  Covent  Garden.     1818. 

8vo,  original  boards,  uncut.  $75.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing  some  changes  not  in  "  Laon  and  Qvthna." 

"  Laon  and  Cythna,"  as  it  was  originally  called,  was  written  in  the 
summer  of  1817,  and  printed  in  the  latter  part  of  that  year,  the  title-page 
bearing  the  date  1818.  It  was  written  "  chiefly  on  a  seat  on  a  high  promi- 
nence in  Bisham  Wood,  where  he  passed  whole  mornings  with  a  blank- 
book  and  a  pencil,"  or,  as  Mrs.  Shelley  states,  "  the  poem  was  written  in 
his  boat,  as  it  floated  under  the  beech  groves  of  Bisham,  or  during  wan- 
derings in  the  neighboring  country." 

Oilier,  the  publisher,  was  disturbed  about  certain  passages,  and  begged 
of  Shelley  to  alter  them.  Shellej^  at  first  refused,  but  Oilier  then  positively 
refused  to  publish,  which  forced  Shelley  to  yield,  even  though  the  book 
was  printed  at  his  own  expense.  The  title  was  changed  to  "  The  Revolt  of 
Islam,"  and  the  same  sheets  were  used  with  the  exception  of  twenty-seven 
cancelled  leaves.  Some  copies  in  the  original  form  got  out,  and  one  of 
these  reached  the  Quarterly  Review  which  slashed  it.  Swinburne  says  of 
the  revision:  "  Every  change  made  in  it  was  forced  upon  the  author  by 
pressure  from  without;  every  change  is  for  the  worse."  J.  A.  Symonds,  in 
his  life  of  Shelley,  says  that  six  months  were  spent  on  the  poem.  "  All  his 
previous  experiences  and  all  his  aspirations — his  passionate  belief  in  friend- 
ship, his  principle  of  the  equality  of  women  with  men,  his  demand  for 
bloodless  revolution,  his  confidence  in  eloquence  and  reason  to  move  na- 
tions, his  doctrine  of  free  love,  his  vegetarianism,  his  hatred  of  religious 
intolerance  and  tyranny — are  blent  together  and  concentrated  in  the  glow- 
ing cantos  of  this  wonderful  romance.  .  .  .  Hooted  down,  derided,  stigma- 
tized and  howled  at,  it  onlj^  served  to  intensify  the  prejudice  with  which 
the  author  of  '  Queen  Mab '  had  come  to  be  regarded." 

In  speaking  of  Southey,  Byron  writes:  "I  have  read  his  review  of 
Hunt,  where  he  has  attacked  Shelley  in  an  oblique  and  shabby  manner. 
Does  he  know  what  that  review  has  done?  I  will  tell  you.  It  has  sold 
an  edition  of  the  '  Revolt  of  Islam,'  which  otherwise  nobody  would  have 
thought  of  reading,  and  few  who  read  can  understand — I  for  one." 

This  must  have  been  exaggerated  as  there  were  sheets  remained  in  1829, 
when  they  were  used  with  a  new  title-page,  and  some  of  these  copies  have 
the  original  "  Laon  and  Cythna "  sheets  before  the  changes  were  made. 

The  "  Revolt  of  Islam  "  may  be  described  as  a  poet's  impassioned  vision 
of  the  French  Revolution  and  the  succeeding  reaction.  Compared  with 
the  later  "  Prometheus  Unbound,"  it  is  the  product  of  a  mighty  ferment, 
as  the  other  poem  is  of  the  calm  ensuing  upon  it.  The  music  of  its  Spen- 
serian stanza  is  unsurpassed  in  the  English  language,  and  although  the 
middle  part  is  somewhat  tedious,  Shelley  never  excelled  the  opening  and 
the  close — Cythna's  education,  the  bridal,  the  picture  of  the  fallen  tyrant, 
the  tremendous  scenes  of  pestilence  and  famine;  above  all  the  dedication 
to  Mary  Shelley.  Nothing  gives  us  a  higher  idea  of  the  energy  of  Shelley's 
mind  than  that,  amid  all  the  troubles  he  was  experiencing  at  the  time — 
the  importunities  of  Godwin,  the  assistance  he  rendered  Leigh  Hunt,  the 
unfortunate  ending  of  the  attachment  between  Byron  and  Mary's  half  sis- 
ter, Claire  Clairmont — that  this  most  ambitious  of  his  poems  should  have 
been  written  within  six  months. 

110 


ADAM   SMITH 

(1723-1790) 

AN  INQUIRY  INTO  THE  NATURE  AND 
CAUSES  OF  THE  WEALTH  OF  NATIONS. 

By  Adam  Smith,  LL.D.  and  F.R.S.  Formerly  Pro- 
fessor of  ]Moral  Philosophy  m  the  University  of  Glas- 
gow. In  Two  Vokmies.  Vol.  I.  London:  Printed 
for  W.  Strahan,  and  T.  Cadell.  In  the  Strand. 
MDCCLXXVL 

2  vols.,  4to,  half  calf,  sprinkled  edges.  $25.00 

The  First  Edition.  "  The  Wealth  of  Nations "  was  published  March 
9,  1776,  in  two  quarto  volumes,  the  price  of  which  was  thirty-six  shillings. 
The  first  edition,  probably  consisting  of  a  thousand  copies,  was  sold  out 
in  six  months:  although  the  second  edition,  a  reprint  with  some  few  cor- 
rections and  additions,  was  not  issued  until  1778.  Smith  is  said  to  have 
received  five  hundred  pounds  for  the  first  edition. 

The  "  Inquiry "  was  based  in  part  on  a  series  of  lectures  which  Smith 
gave  at  Glasgow  University  on  Justice,  Police,  Revenue,  and  Arms,  Some 
ten  years  had  been  spent  in  carefully  studying  and  elaborating  these 
lectures.  He  was  in  London  frequently  if  he  did  not  stay  there  con- 
tinuously, and  in  1775  was  elected  a  member  of  The  Club.  He  is  men- 
tioned by  Walpole,  Bishop  Percy  and  others,  and  it  is  said  that  he  often 
met  Franklin  and  carefully  discussed  chapters  of  the  "  Wealth  of  Nations  " 
with  him. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  English  book  were  ever  longer  in  being  put 
to  press  than  this  one.  '  Mr.  John  Rae,  in  his  life  of  Smith,  says  he  took 
twelve  years  to  write  it,  and  that  it  was  in  contemplation  twelve  years 
before  that.  It  was  explicitly  and  publicly  promised  in  the  concluding 
paragraph  of  "  The  Theory  of"  Moral  Sentiments,"  which  appeared  in  1759. 

Undoubtedly  one  reason  for  the  book's  popularity  was  Smith's  delight 
in  quaint  and  out-of-the-way  information.  Many  a  page,  which  might 
otherwise  prove  dull  reading,  is  enlivened  by  some  anecdote  or  quaint 
comparison.  A  glimpse  of  his  later  days  in  Edinburgh  is  given  us  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott: 

"We  shall  never  forget  one  particular  evening  when  he  [Smith]  imt 
an  elderlv  maiden  lady  who  presided  at  the  tea-table  to  sore  confusion 
by  neglecting  utterly  her  invitation  to  be  seated,  and  walking  roimd  and 
round  the  circle  stopping  ever  and  anon  to  steal  a  lump  from  the  sugar 
basin,  which  the  venerable  spinster  was  at  length  constrained  to  place  on 
her  own  knee,  as  the  only  method  of  securing  it  from  his  uneconomical 
depredations.  His  appearance  munching  the  eternal  sugar  was  something 
indescribable." 

"  It  seems  to  have  made  a  great  impression  on  Hume:  "  Euge !  Belle!  Dear 
Mr.  Smith — I  am  much  pleased  with  your  performance,  and  the  perusal 
of  it  has  taken  me  from  a  state  of  great  anxiety.  It  was  a  work  of 
so  much  expectation,  by  yourself,  by  your  friends,  and  by  the  public,  that 
I  trembled  for  its  appearance,  but  am  now  much  relieved.  Not  but  that 
the  reading  of  it  necessarily  requires  so  much  attention,  and  the  jiuhlic  is 
disposed  to  give  so  little,  that  I  shall  still  doubt  for  sometime  of  its 
being  at  first  verv  popular.  But  it  has  depth,  and  solidity,  and  acuteness, 
and  is  so  much  illustrated  by  curious  facts  that  it  must  at  last  ttike  the 
public  attention." 

Ill 


TOBIAS  GEORGE  SMOLLETT 

(1721-1771) 

THE  EXPEDITION  OF  HUMPHREY 
CLINKER.  By  the  Author  of  Roderick  Random. 
In  Three  Volumes.  Vol.  I.  [Quotation.]  London, 
Printed  for  W.  Johnston,  in  Ludgate-Street;  and  B. 
CoHins,  in  Salisbury.    MDCLXXL 

3  vols.,  l6mo,  original  calf,  sprinkled  edges.  $50.00 

The  First  Edition.  "  Roderick  Random,"  Smollett's  first  book,  had  ap- 
peared in  1748.  The  greater  part  of  "Humphrey  Clinker"  was  written  in 
the  autumn  of  1770,  when  its  author  was  dying.  He  "  had  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  his  masterpiece,  but  not  of  hearing  the  chorus  of  praise  that 
greeted  it."  He  wrote  to  his  friend  John  Hunter  in  the  spring  of  1771: 
"  If  I  can  prevail  upon  my  wife  to  execute  my  last  wUl,  you  shall  receive 
my  poor  carcase  in  a  box  after  I  am  dead  to  be  placed  among  your  rarities. 
I  am  already  so  dry  and  emaciated  that  I  may  pass  for  an  Egyptiem 
mummy  without  any  other  preparation  than  some  pitch  and  painted 
linen." 

Some  copies  of  the  first  volume,  have,  as  in  this  instance,  an  error  in 
the  date,  1671  being  printed  for  1771. 

It  is  possible  that  Smollett  wrote  the  first  rough  draft  of  "  Humphrey 
Clinker "  in  the  winter  of  1766,  as  his  health  had  taken  a  turn  for  the 
better.  It  is  practically  certain  that  he  owed  his  conception  of  the  frame- 
work of  it  to  a  reperusal  of  Anstey's  "  New  Bath  Guide."  His  attention 
was  then  turned  to  the  "  History  and  Adventures  of  an  Atom,"  a  fierce 
Rabelaisian  satire  on  public  affairs  in  England,  in  which  he  scores,  Pitt, 
his  old  friend,  and  John  Wilkes,  his  journalistic  rival  with  equal  severity. 
His  health  gave  way  entirely  after  its  publication  and  his  friends  prevailed 
on  him  to  go  to  Italy  to  prolong  his  life.  He  left  England  in  December, 
1769,  and  spent  the  last  year  of  his  life  near  Leghorn,  where  during  the 
autumn  of  1770  he  penned  the  bulk  of  the  immortal  "  Humphrey  Clinker." 

Horace  Walpole  stands  almost  alone  as  a  detractor  of  "  Humphrey 
Clinker,"  which  he  characterized  as  "  a  party  novel  written  by  that  profli- 
gate hireling  Smollett,  to  vindicate  the  Scots  and  cry  down  juries."  Other 
critics  regarded  the  work,  which  bears  traces  of  Sterne's  influence,  as  a 
rare  example  of  literary  power  and  satirical  humor.  Thackeray  gives  to 
"  Clinker  "  the  palm  among  laughable  stories  since  the  art  of  novel-writing 
was  invented.  The  workmanship  is  unequal,  and  the  story  which  is  largely 
autobiographic  is  often  used  as  a  means  to  introduce  Smollett's  own  views 
on  aesthetic  subjects.  As  a  whole,  however,  the  setting  is  worthy  of  the 
characters — the  kindly  but  irascible  Bramble,  the  desperate  old  maid 
Tabitha,  the  diverting  Winifred  Jenkins — direct  foreshadower  of  Mrs. 
Malaprop— and  the  "  flower  of  the  flock,"  the  Pedant  Lismahago.  The 
original  of  the  last  is  said  to  have  been  a  certain  Major  Robert  Stobo 
who  drew  up  a  curious  Memorial  in  1760. 

Smollett's  first  novel  appeared  in  the  same  year  as  Richardson's  "  Clar- 
issa," and  the  year  before  "  Tom  Jones."  It  became  popular  immediately 
and  did  much  in  establishing  the  new  form  of  fiction  in  which  writers  dealt 
immediately  with  the  life  of  their  own  time. 

Collins,  as  we  have  seen,  was  associated  with  Francis  Newbery  in  the 
publication  of  "  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield,"  and  he  was  also  associated  with 
nephew  and  uncle  in  the  sale  of  Dr.  James's  Fever  Powder,  and  the  meinu- 
facture  of  the  celebrated  Cordial  Cephalic  Snuff. 

112 


LAURENCE  STERNE 

(1713-1768) 

A  SENTIMENTAL  JOURNEY  THROUGH 
FRANCE  AND  ITALY.  By  Mr.  Yorick.  Vol.  I. 
London:  Printed  for  T.  Becket,  and  P.  A.  de  Hondt, 
in  the  Strand.    MDCCLXVIII. 

2  vols.,  l6mo,  full  contemporary  calf.  $60.00 

The  First  Edition.  "  A  Sentimental  Journey "  appeared  on  the  24tii 
or  ;35th  of  February,  1768.  The  price  was  five  shillings  for  the  two  vol- 
luiies.  It  was  announced  as  Vol.  I  and  II,  of  "  A  Sentimental  Journey 
through  France  and  Italy,"  showing  that  Sterne  planned  for  further  vol- 
umes which  were  never  written,  as  he  was  nearly  at  the  end  of  his  life. 

He  had  worked  on  "  The  Sentimental  Journey "  for  a  considerable 
period,  and  had  hoped  to  live  long  enough  to  complete  it,  but  died  March 
18,  1768. 

A  book  of  travels  had  been  planned  by  Sterne  for  many  years,  and  in 
"  Tristram  Shandy "  he  tried  his  hand  at  a  description  of  the  sort  later 
used.  His  design  in  writing  "The  Sentimental  Journey"  was:  "to  teach 
us  to  love  the  world  and  our  fellow  creatures  better  than  we  do— so  it  runs 
most  upon  those  gentler  passions  and  afiFections,  which  aid  so  much  to  it." 

At  the  time  of  the  writing  of  this  book  he  was  in  a  very  advanced  stage 
of  consumption.  The  book  came  out  in  two  styles — in  two  small  octavo 
volumes  with  pages  measuring  about  six  inches  by  three  and  three  quarters, 
and  in  two  larger  octavo  volumes  on  imperial  paper  with  wide-margined 
pages  measuring  about  seven  inches  by  four.  In  the  first  style  the  price 
of  the  set,  pages  sewed  but  unbound,  was  five  shillings  in  the  second  style, 
the  price  was  apparently  half  a  guinea.  There  were  281  subscribers,  who 
took  199  sets  on  ordinary  paper  and  135  on  imperial  paper.  This  list  in- 
cluded nearlj'  everybody  prominently  connected  with  the  government,  the 
Archbishop  of  York,  and  many  others,  one  person  taking  20  sets  on  im- 
perial paper  for  which  he  had  his  name  entered  as  "  the  yoimg  rich  Mr. 
Crew."  The  first  edition  was  taken  up  at  once  and  a  second  appeared  on 
March  29th.  Horace  Walpole  thought  the  new  book  "  very  pleasing,  though 
too  much  dilated,"  and  recommended  it  for  its  "  great  good  nature  and 
strokes  of  delicacy." 

Within  a  year  translations  were  made  into  German  and  French,  and  later 
into  Russian,  Spanish,  Polish,  and  Italian.  Sterne  wrote  his  last  letter  to 
his  daughter  in  March:  "  My  dearest  Lydia — My  '  Sentimental  Journey,'  you 
say  is  admired  in  York  by  everyone,  and  'tis  not  vanity  in  me  to  tell  you 
that  it  is  no  less  admired  here,  but  what  is  the  gratification  of  my  feel- 
ings on  this  occasion?  The  want  of  health  bows  me  down,  and  vanity 
harbours  not  in  thy  father's  breast — this  vile  influenza — be  not  alarm'd,  I 
think  I  shall  get  the  better  of  it." 

I.essing  said  of  hini:  "I  would  have  given  ten  years  of  my  own  life  if 
I  had  been  able  to  lengthen  Sterne's  by  one  year." 

Sterne  said  of  himself  [Morgan  MSS.]:  "I  am  a  queer  dog, — only  you 
must  not  wait  for  my  being  so  till  supper,  much  less  an  hour  after, — for 
I   am  so  before  breakfast." 

No  modern  writer  has  shown  a  more  certain  touch  in  transferring  to 
his  canvas  commonplace  domestic  scenes  which  only  a  master's  hand  can 
invest  with  point  or  interest.  It  is  this  kind  of  power  especially  that 
glorifies  '  A  Sentimental  Journey.'  His  sureness  of  insight  and  descriptive 
faculty  have  created  this  "  Sontimentfil  Journey  "  out  of  the  simi)lcst  and 
most  commonplace  episodes  of  travel. 

118 


HARRIET  BEECHER  STOWE 

(1811-1896) 

UNCLE  TOM'S  CABIN;  OR,  LIFE  AMONG 
THE  LOWLY.  By  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe.  (Vig- 
nette.) Vol.  I.  Boston:  John  P.  Jewett  &  Company. 
Cleveland,  Ohio:  Jewett,  Proctor  &  Worthington. 
1852. 

2  vols.,  12  mo;,  original  brown  cloth.  $35.00 

The  First  Edition.  The  origin  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  was  given  by- 
Mrs.  Stowe  herself  in  a  preface  which  she  wrote  for  an  illustrated  edition. 
In  turning  the  pages  of  an  anti-slavery  magazine  she  read  the  account  of 
the  escape  of  a  woman  with  her  child  on  the  ice  of  the  Ohio  River  from 
Kentucky;  the  incident  was  given  by  an  eye-witness,  who  had  aided  the 
woman  in  reaching  the  Ohio  shore.  This  formed  the  basis  of  at  least  a 
part  of  the  story. 

The  first  part  actually  written  was  the  death  of  Uncle  Tom.  This,  she 
says,  came  to  her  almost  as  a  vision.  After  that  it  all  seemed  to  unfold 
itself  before  her.     It  first  appeared   as   a   serial   in   the   "  National   Era." 

Mrs.  Stowe  received  $300  for  the  serial  rights.  The  story  caught  the 
eye  of  J.  P.  Jewett,  a  young  publisher  of  Boston,  who  applied  for  the 
book  rights  and  obtained  them.  The  book  was  published  on  March  20, 
1852.  Ten  thousand  copies  were  sold  in  a  few  days  and  over  three  hun- 
dred thousand  within  a  year. 

There  is  an  interesting  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Stowe  to  an  English- 
woman who  had  asked  for  some  details  of  her  life:  "You  ask  with  re- 
gard to  the  remuneration  which  I  have  received  for  my  work  here  in 
America.  Having  been  poor  all  my  life  and  expecting  to  be  poor  the 
rest  of  it,  the  idea  of  making  money  by  a  book  which  I  wrote  just  because 
I  could  not  help  it,  never  occurred  to  me.  It  was  therefore  an  agreeable 
surprise  to  receive  ten  thousand  dollars  as  the  first  fruits  of  three  months' 
sale.  I  presume  as  much  more  is  now  due."  Then  follows  something 
about  the  English  editions  and  her  plan  for  erecting  some  permanent 
memorial  with  her  share  of  the  profits.  "  I  suffer  exquisitely  in  writing 
these  things.  It  may  be  truly  said  that  I  write  with  my  heart's  blood. 
Many  times  in  writing  '  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin '  I  thought  my  health  would 
fail  utterly;  but  I  prayed  earnestly  that  God  would  help  me  till  I  got 
through,  and  still  I  am  pressed  beyond  measure  and  above  strength." 

The  writing  of  Uncle  Tom's  death  she  graphically  describes: 

"  I  was  very  tired  when  we  returned  to  our  boarding  house  to  the  early 
midday  dinner.  After  our  dinner  we  went  to  our  room  for  rest.  Mr. 
Stowe  threw  himself  upon  the  bed;  I  was  to  use  the  lounge;  but  suddenly 
arose  before  me  the  death  scene  of  Uncle  Tom  with  what  led  to  it — and 
George's  visit  to  him.  I  sat  down  at  the  table  and  wrote  nine  pages  of 
foolscap  paper  without  pausing,  except  long  enough  to  dip  my  pen  into 
the  inkstand.  Just  as  I  had  finished,  Mr.  Stowe  awoke,  '  Wife,'  said 
he,  'have  not  you  lain  down  yet?'  'No,'  I  answered,  'I  have  been 
writing,  and  I  want  you  to  listen  to  this,  and  see  if  it  will  do.'  I  read 
aloud  to  him  with  the  tears  flowing  fast.  He  wept,  too,  and  before  I  had 
finished,  his  sobs  shook  the  bed  upon  which  he  was  lying.  He  sprang  up, 
saying,  '  Do !  I  should  think  it  would  do ! '  and  folding  the  sheets,  he 
immediately  directed  and  sent  them  to  the  publisher,  without  one  word  of 
correction  or  revision  of  any  kind.  '  I  have  often  thought,'  she  con- 
tinued, '  that  if  anything  had  happened  to  that  package  in  going,  it  would 
not  have  been  possible  for  me  to  have  reproduced  it.' " 

114 


NAHUM  TATE 

(1652-1715) 

AND  NICHOLAS  BRADY 

(1659-1726) 

A  NEW  EDITION  OF  THE  PSALMS  OF 
DAVID,  FITTED  TO  THE  TUNES  USED  IN 
CHURCHES.  By  N.  Tate  and  N.  Brady.  London: 
Printed  by  M.  Clark,  for  the  Company  of  Stationers, 
1696. 

18mo,  contemporary  black  calf.  $25.00 

The  First  Edition.  The  first  appearance  of  Tate  and  Brady's  "  New 
Version  of  the  Psahns  "  was  in  the  form  of  a  sheet  and  a  half,  now  pre- 
served in  the  Bodleian  Library,  and  bearing  no  date.  In  1695  a  specimen 
was  issued  containing  the  first  twenty  psalms.  The  complete  version  fol- 
lowed in  1696.  It  was  called  the  "  New  Version"  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
work  then  in  use,  a  version  made  by  Sternhold  and  Hopkins. 

It  was  licensed  by  the  King  on  December  3,  1696,  for  use  at  public  service, 
due  application  having  been  made,  and  had  the  sanction  and  revision  of 
the    Archbishop   of   Canterbury. 

Of  the  authors  Nahum  Tate  was  the  more  prominent.  In  1682  he  wrote 
a  second  part  to  Dryden's  "  Absalom  and  Achitophel,"  a  fair  imitation  in 
some  ways,  but  full  of  borrowed  phrases  and  words.  Dryden  was  re- 
sponsible for  some  two  hundred  lines  of  it.  He  also  worked  with  Dryden 
on  some  lesser  pieces.  At  the  death  of  Shadwell,  Tate  was  appointed  Poet 
Laureate  (December  24,  1692)  and  his  ofiicial  verse  was  rather  prolific. 
On  the  accession  of  Anne  he  was  reappointed,  but  lost  the  place  when 
George  First  came  to  the  throne.     Pope  satirized   him  thus: 

"  The  Bard  whom  pilfer'd  pastorals  renown, 
Who  turns  a  Persian  tale  for  half-a-crown, 
Just  writes  to  make  his  barrenness  appear, 
And  strains  from  hard-bound  brains  eight  lines  a  year; 
He,  who  still  wanting,  though  he  lives  on  theft, 
Steals  much,  spends  little,  yet  has  nothing  left:  i 

And  he,  who  now  to  sense,  now  nonsense  leaning,  ' 

Means  not,  but  blunders  round  a  meaning; 
And  he,  whose  fustian's  so  sublimely  bad, 
It  is  not  poetry,  but  prose  run  mad, 
All  these,  my  modest  satire,  bade  translate. 
And  own'd  that  nine  such  Poets  made  a  Tate." 

Nicholas  Brady  was  an  Irishman  like  Tate,  and  like  him  he  turned  his 
hand  toward  dramatic  work  having  a  tragedy — "  The  Rape,"  produced 
at  the  Theatre  Royal.  He  was  a  clergj-man,  and  was  for  some  years 
settled  at  Richmond  where,  in  addition  to  his  regular  parish  work,  he 
conducted  a  school   for  boys. 

"  The  New  Version  "  was  received  with  some  reservations.  Many  people 
considering  the  old  version  almost  sacred,  and  deeming  it  wrong  to  tamper 
with  it.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  distinguish  the  work  of  the  two 
authors,  but  this  can  hardly  be  done  with  any  sort  of  accuracy. 

115 


THE  TATLER 

THE  LUCUBRATIONS  OF  ISAAC  BICK- 
ERSTAFF,  ESQ.  Vol.  I.  [Quotation.]  London: 
Printed  and  sold  by  John  Morphew,  near  Stationers 
Hall.  MDCCX.  [MDCCXL]  Note.— The  book- 
binder is  desired  to  place  the  Index  after  Tatler,  No. 
114  which  ends  the  First  Volume  in  Folio. 

Folio,  full  calf,  rebacked.  $135.00 

The  first  number  of  the  Lucubrations,  a  folio  sheet  headed  with  the 
title  The  Tatler,  and  ending  with  the  imprint  London,  printed  for  the 
author,  1709,  appeared  on  Tuesday,  April  12th.  It  was  issued  thereafter 
three  times  a  week,  on  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays,  "  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  post." 

The  first  four  numbers  were  distributed  free  as  a  kind  of  advertisement. 
Then,  "  Upon  the  humble  Petition  of  the  Running  Stationers,  etc.,"  they 
were  sold  at  one  penny.  But  a  charge  of  halfpence  was  added  after  the 
twenty-sixth  nimiber,  "  Whereas  Several  Gentlemen  have  desir'd  this  Pa- 
per, with  a  blank  Leaf  to  write  Business  on,  and  for  the  convenience  of 
the  post." 

The  single  numbers  usually  bear  the  name  of  "  Isaac   Bickerstaff,   Esq." 

Nmnber  271,  dated  January  2,  1711,  omits  Bickerstaff's  name,  and  the 
whole  paper,  except  for  some  advertisements  at  the  end,  is  given  to  a 
letter  signed  by  Steele,  in  which  he  says :  "  The  Printer  having  informed  me 
that  there  are  as  many  of  these  Papers  printed  as  will  make  Four  Vol- 
umes, I  am  now  come  to  the  End  of  my  Ambition  in  this  Matter,  and 
have  nothing  further  to  say  to  the  World,  under  the  Character  of  Isaac 
Bickerstaff.  This  Work  has  indeed  for  some  time  been  disagreeable  to 
me,  and  the  Purpose  of  it  wholly  lost  by  my  being  so  long  understood  as 
the  Author." 

The  title-page  of  the  second  volume  is  like  the  first,  only  it  is  dated 
1711;  and  the  foot-note  reads:  "Note,  The  Bookbinder  is  desired  to  place 
the  Index  after  Tatler  No.  271,  which  ends  the  second  Volume  in  Folio." 
The  index  to  the  Tatlers  of  this  volume  has  the  note:  "  [The  Price  of  these 
Three  Sheets  and  a  Half,  Six  Pence.]  "  The  notes  on  the  dedications,  and 
the  fact  that  while  the  folio  sheets  made  only  two  volumes,  four  dedica- 
tions were  issued,  shows  that  the  binding  of  the  current  sheets  was  an 
afterthought,  and  that  the  quarto  edition  in  four  volumes  was  relied  upon 
to  keep  alive  the  Lucubrations.  Thus  the  quarto  edition  dedications  were 
made  to  do  double  service. 

Aitken  tells  us  that,  "  Like  other  publications  of  the  time,  the  successive 
numbers  of  the  Tatler  were  reprinted  in  Dublin  and  Edinburgh,  as  they 
came  out.  The  Dublin  issue  was  in  quarto  form,  the  Edinburgh  paper  a 
folio  sheet,  rather  smaller  than  the  original,  and  with  a  fresh  set  of  adver- 
tisements of  interest  to  local  readers." 

In  No.  102  the  editor  says  of  the  octavo  edition: 

"  Whereas  I  am  informed,  that  there  is  a  spurious  and  very  incorrect 
Edition  of  these  Papers  printed  in  a  small  Volume;  these  are  to  give 
Notice,  That  there  is  in  the  Press,  and  will  speedily  be  published,  a  very 
neat  Edition,  fitted  for  the  Pocket,  on  extraordinary  good  Paper,  a  new 
Brevier  Letter,  like  the  Elzevir  Editions,  and  adorned  with  several  Cuts 
by  the  best  Artists.  To  which  is  added  a  Preface,  Index,  and  many  Notes, 
for  the  better  Explanation  of  these  Luctibrations.  By  the  Author.  Who 
has  revised,  amended,  and  made  many  Additions  to  the  Whole." 

116 


ALFRED  TENNYSON 

FIRST   BAROX   TENNYSON 

(1809-1892) 

IN    ME]M0RIA:M.      London:    Edward    INIoxon, 
Dover  Street.    1850. 

l6mo,  original  brown  cloth,  luicut,  with  advertisements.         $30.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing  tiie  misprint  on  page  2,  stanza  4,  "  And 
gazing  on  the  sullen  tree "  for  "  gazing  on  thee,  sullen  tree."  Tenny- 
son began  "  In  Memoriam  "  some  months  after  the  death  of  Arthur  Hal- 
lam,  which  had  occurred  at  A'ienna  on  September  15,  1833.  However, 
it  was  not  until  May,  1850,  that  "  In  Memoriam "  was  printed  and  given 
to-  a  few  friends  of  the  Tennysons  and  Hallams.  It  was  published  soon 
after,  anonxTiiously  at  first,  but  the  authorsliip  was  very  soon  discovered. 
Tennyson  himself  said  that  he  had  no  idea  of  publication,  that  he  merely 
set  down  thoughts  and  phrases  as  they  came  to  him — the  "  Elegies "  he 
called  them — but  when  he  found  how  many  he  had  and  that  they  could  be 
connected  he  began  to  arrange  them  for  publication. 

A  circumstance  connected  with  its  publication,  though  not  bibliographi- 
cal in  its  bearing,  demands  a  passing  word.  "If  'In  Memoriam  '  were  pub- 
lished," Hallam  Tennyson  says  in  his  life  of  the  laureate,  "  Moxon  had 
promised  a  small  yearly  rojalty  on  this  and  on  the  other  poems,  and  so 
my  father  had  decided  that  he  could  now  honourably  offer  my  mother  a 
home.  Accordingly  after  ten  years  of  separation  their  engagement  was 
renewed.  .  .  .  Moxon  now  advanced  £300— -so  my  Uncle  Charles  told  a 
friend — at  all  events  £300  were  in  my  father's  bank  in  his  name."  With 
this  and  their  small  incomes  combined  they  decided  to  marry.  The  mar- 
riage took  place  June  13,  the  month  that  saw  the  publication  of  "In 
Memoriam." 

Mrs.  Browning  wrote  to  Miss  Mitford  about  this  time:  "We  are  very 
anxious  to  know  about  Tennyson's  new  work  '  In  Memoriam.'  Do  tell  us 
about  it.  You  are  aware  that  it  was  written  years  ago,  and  relates  to  a 
son  of  Mr.  Hallam,  who  was  Tennyson's  intimate  friend  and  the  betrothed 
of  his  sister.  I  have  heard,  through  some  one  who  had  seen  the  MS.,  that 
it  is  full  of  beauty  and  pathos." 

And  again:  "As  to  'In  Memoriam'  I  have  seen  it,  I  have  read 
it  .  .  .  and  now  I  really  do  disagree  with  you  for  the  book  has  gone  to 
my  heart  and  soul;  I  think  it  full  of  deep  pathos  and  beauty.  All  I 
wish  away  is  the  marriage  hymn  at  the  end,  and  that  for  every  reason 
I   wish  away — it's   a   discord  to  the  music." 

Edward  Fitzgerald  wrote  to  Frederic  Tennyson,  August  15,  1850:  "Since 
all  this  Alfred  has  got  married.  Spedding  has  seen  him  and  his  wife  at 
Keswick,  and  speaks  very  highly  of  her.  May  all  turn  out  well !  Alfred 
has  also  published  his  Elegiacs  on  A.  Hallam;  these  sell  greatly,  and  will, 
I  fear,  raise  a  host  of  Elegiac  scribblers."  "...  I  cannot  care  for 
his  '  In  Memoriam.'  .  .  .  His  poem  I  never  did  greatly  affect,  nor  can 
I  learn  to  do  so;  it  is  full  of  finest  things,  but  it  is  monotonous,  and  has 
that  air  of  being  evolved  by  a  Poetical  Machine  of  the  highest  order." 

The  poem  was  written  in  a  four-line  stanza — believed  by  Tennyson  to 
have  been  invented  by  himself,  but  which  had  been  in  fact  used  long  before 
by  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  Ben  Jonson,  and  notably  by  Lord  Herbert  of 
Cherbury.  While  the  critics  did  not  recognize  it  promptly,  the  public, 
to  whom  its  sorrow  and  faith  appealed  with  deepest  meaning,  accejjted  it 
at  once. 

117 


L  Oh'T)  on 
IRAOeURV   &    EVANS,  BOUVCRlC    STREE.T. 
18^3 


118 


WILLIAM  MAKEPEACE 
THACKERAY 

(1811-1863) 

VANITY  FAIR.  A  Novel  Without  a  Hero.  By 
William  ^lakepeace  Thackeray.  With  Illustrations  on 
Steel  and  AVood  by  the  Author.  London:  Bradbury 
and  Evans,  11  Bouverie  Street.    1848. 

8vo,  full  crimson  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  top,  uncut,  by 
Wood,  ^vith  the  original  advertisement  of  "  the  great  Hogarty  Dia- 
mond "  preserved.  $90.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing  the  rustic  title,  and  the  engraving  on  page 
336,  of  Lord  Styne,  which  Thackeray  afterward  suppressed.  Dickens's 
success  in  publishing  novels  in  monthly  numbers  encouraged  Thackeray  to 
oiier  "  Vanitj'  Fair  "  to  the  publishers  late  in  1846,  and  the  first  number 
ajjpeared  January  1,  1847.  The  name  of  the  book,  as  seen  in  the  delightful 
and  altogether  characteristic  drawing  on  the  engraved  title-page,  reminds 
one  of  what  Miss  Kate  Perry  says  in  her  reminiscences  of  Thackeray: 

"  He  told  me,  some  time  afterward,  that,  after  ransacking  his  brain 
for  a  name  for  his  novel,  it  came  upon  him  unawares,  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  as  if  a  voice  had  whispered,  'Vanity  Fair.'  He  said,  'I  jumped 
out  of  bed,  and  ran  three  times  round  my  room,  uttering,  as  I  went,  '  Van- 
ity   Fair,  Vanity   Fair,  Vanity  Fair.' " 

\  izetelly  gives  the  following  account  of  the  final  arrangements  for 
the  publication  of  the  book: 

"  One  afternoon,  when  he  called  in  Peterborough  Court,  he  had  a  small 
brown  paper  parcel  with  him,  and  opened  it  to  show  me  his  two  careful 
drawings  for  the  page  plates  to  the  first  number  of  '  Vanity  Fair.'  Tied 
up  with  them  was  the  manuscript  of  the  earlier  part  of  the  book,  of 
which  he  had  several  times  spoken  to  me,  referring  to  the  quaint  character 
that  Chiswick  MaU — within  a  stone's  throw  of  which  I  was  then  living — 
still  retained.  His  present  intention,  he  told  me,  was  to  see  Bradbury  & 
Evans,  and  offer  tlie  work  to  them.  ...  In  a  little  more  than  half  an 
hour  Thackeray  again  made  his  appearance,  and,  with  a  beaming  face, 
gleefully  informed  me  that  he  had  settled  the  business.  '  Bradbury  & 
Evans,'  he  said,  '  accepted  so  readily  that  I  am  deuced  sorry  I  didn't  ask 
them  for  another  tenner.  I  am  certain  they  would  have  given  it.'  He 
then  explained  that  he  had  named  fifty  guineas  per  part,  including  the 
two  sheets  of  letter-press,  a  couple  of  etchings,  and  the  initials  at  the 
commencement  of  the  chapters.  He  reckoned  the  text,  I  remember,  at  no 
more  than  five-and-twenty  shillings  a  page,  the  two  etchings  at  six  guineas 
each,  while  as  for  the  few  initials  at  the  beginnings  of  the  chapters,  he 
threw  those  in."  Following  the  plan  of  Chapman  &  Hall,  who  issued 
Dickens's  works  in  monthly  parts  in  green  covers,  and  Lever's  publishers 
who  brought  him  out  in  part,  Bradbury  &  Evans  published  "  Vanity 
Fair"  in  yellow-covered  numbers,  dated  January,  1847,  to  July,  1848,  at 
one  shilling  a  part. 

At  first  the  novel  did  not  sell  well;  it  was  even  questioned  whether  it 
might  not  be  best  to  stop  its  publication.  But  later  in  the  year,  owing 
to  some  cause,  perhaps  the  eulogistic  mention  in  Miss  Bronte's  preface 
to  "Jane  Eyre"  or,  perhaps,  a  favorable  mention  in  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
its  success  became  assured. 

119 


MARIE  JOSEPH   LOUIS  ADOLPHE 
THIERS 

(1797-1877) 

DE  LA  PROPRIETE.  Par  M.  A.  Thiers.  Paris: 
Paulin,  Lheui-eux  et  Cie.,  Editeurs,  Rue  Richelieu^  60. 
1848. 

8vo,  original  paper.  $10.00 

Presentation  copy,  with  the  inscription  on  the  title-page. 

Marie  Joseph  Louis  Adolphe  Thiers,  a  great  French  statesman  and  his- 
torian, was  born  at  Marseilles  on  April  14,  1797.  He  lived  to  be  eighty- 
years  old,  dying  at  St.-Germain-en-Laye,  September  3,  1877. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  career  he  studied  law  at  Aix,  going  to  Paris 
later  at  about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  where  he  struggled  along  in  an 
attic  for  some  time.  His  first  literary  work  was  done  for  the  newspapers, 
and  he  gradually  became  known  among  literary  people  and  attracted  the 
notice  of  prominent  statesmen. 

His  "  Du  Droit  de  Propriete "  appeared  in  1848,  at  the  most  exciting 
period  of  his  career. 

The  years  preceding  the  issue  of  this  essay  on  the  Rights  of  Property 
was  a  period  of  political  ferment,  aggravated  by  the  unrest  among  the 
bourgeois  arising  from  the  theories  of  social  reformers.  Fourier,  Lamar- 
tine.  Constant,  and  Thiers,  although  coldly  received  by  the  masses  in 
France,  had  yet  influenced  the  more  thoughtful  among  them  to  believe  that 
there  was  a  possible  remedy  to  be  found,  by  legislation  if  by  no  other 
means.  This  agitation,  combined  with  that  of  the  ultra  radical  politi- 
cians in  the  Assembly  and  in  the  streets,  caused  charges  of  the  Gov- 
ernment and  the  fall  of  two  Kings.  The  Revolution  of  July,  1830,  was 
the  cause  of  the  abdication  of  Charles  X,  and  Thiers  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal supporters  of  Louis  Philippe.  The  Revolution  of  1848,  while  not 
supported  by  Thiers,  was  at  least  not  objected  to,  and  he  became  at  first 
the  supporter  of  the  next  candidate  for  the  throne,  Louis  Napoleon.  In 
this  period  Thiers  had  been  several  times  at  the  head  of  the  party  in 
power,  and  as  many  times  had  been  forced  to  resign,  and  one  of  the  first 
things  he  was  asked  to  do  when  the  country  had  settled  into  quiet  once 
again  was  to  combat  the  widespread  feeling  toward  extreme  Socialist  the- 
orism,  which  later  was  to  break  into  open  action  in  the  latter  part  of  1870 
as  Communism.  A  member  of  the  Academy,  and  likewise  a  popular  poli- 
tician, Louis  Napoleon  chose  him  to  write  this  treatise  on  the  Rights  of 
Property.  Whether  Thiers  had  not  his  heart  in  the  work,  or  Socialism  had 
too  strong  a  hold  on  him,  the  result  was  practically  nothing.  As  a  lit- 
erary essay  it  may  be  counted  one  of  his  marked  works — as  a  dam  to  stop 
a  torrent  it  was  ineffective. 

Emily  Crawford  wrote  of  Thiers  in  the  Contemporary  Revieiv:  "He  was 
never  ordinary  and  still  less  extraordinary  in  the  sense  of  being  astonishing. 
None  the  less  he  was  entirely  out  of  the  common  run  of  human  beings.  I 
always  thought  he  must  have  been  mentally  and  otherwise  the  image  of 
Ulysses.  .  .  .  He  had  the  observation,  the  astuteness,  acuteness,  intelligent 
trickery  of  that  navigator,  his  taste  for  roving  in  many  lands,  and  he  de- 
served to  be  celebrated  by  a  Homer.  What  may  seem  inconsistent  with  the 
above  were  his  remarkable  spontaneity  and  the  frankness  of  his  nature.  A 
more  complex  being,  perhaps,  never  lived.  One  saw  him  to  great  advan- 
tage in  the  tribune  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  But  he  appeared  greater 
when  he  became  engaged  in  a  causerie  in  his  study  in  the  Place  St.  Georges. 

120 


HENRY  DAVID  THOREAU 

(1817-1862) 

A  WEEK  ON  THE  CONCORD  AND  MER- 
RIMACK RIVERS.  By  Henry  D.  Thoreau.  Bos- 
ton and  Cambridge:  James  jNIonroe  &  Co.  New  York: 
George  P.  Putnam.  Philadelphia:  Lhidsay  &  Black- 
iston.     London:  John  Chapman.     1849. 

12mo,  original  cloth.  $50.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  the  three  lines  dropped  by  the  printer  on  page 
396.  The  voyage  on  the  Concord  and  Merrimack  was  made  by  Thoreau  in 
1839,  in  company  with  his  brother  John  who  died  three  years  later.  The 
boat  in  which  the  trip  was  made  came  afterwards  into  the  possession  of 
Hawthorne,  and  in  it  he  and  Channing  made  many  excursions.  In  the 
diary  of  Bronson  Alcott,  under  date  of  March  16,  1847,  we  find  this  entry, 
made  two  years  before  the  "Week"  was  issued: 

"  This  evening  I  passed  with  Thoreau  at  his  hermitage  on  Walden,  and 
he  read  me  some  passages  from  his  manuscript  volume,  entitled  'A  Week  on 
the  Concord  and  Merrimack  Rivers.'  The  book  is  purely  American,  fra- 
grant with  the  life  of  New  England  woods  and  streams,  and  could  have 
been  written  nowhere  else.  Especially  am  I  touched  by  his  sufficiency  and 
soundness,  his  aboriginal  vigor — as  if  a  man  had  once  more  come  into 
Nature  who  knew  what  Nature  meant  him  to  do  with  her — Virgil,  and 
White  of  Selborne,  and  Izaak  Walton  and  Yankee  settler  all  in  one. 
I  came  home  at  midnight,  through  the  woody  snow-paths,  and  sle])t  with 
the  pleasing  dream  that  presently  the  press  would  give  me  two  books  to 
be  proud   of — Emerson's   '  Poems  '   and  Thoreau's  '  Week.'  " 

Thoreau  worked  over  his  manuscript  at  Walden,  and  some  portions  were 
printed  in  The  Dial  from  1840  to  1844,  by  Margaret  Fuller,  although  she 
refused  many  contributions  which  she  declared  were  faulty  in  rhythm  and 
contained  false  metaphors.  It  was  not  issued  in  book  form  until  1849, 
although  the  author  had  made  many  attempts  to  have  it  published  before. 
As  it  was  he  had  to  bear  the  costs,  and  many  a  day  was  spent  in  sur- 
veying in  order  to  pay  the  expenses,  for  the  book  was  very  far  from  a 
success  financially.  The  publishers  grew  tired  of  carrying  the  "  remainder  " 
stock,  and  turned  it  over  to  Thoreau  in  1855  to  his  considerable  embarrass- 
ment. There  were  more  than  seven  hundred  copies  unsold  out  of  the 
thousand  printed. 

The  chapter  on  "  Friendship "  in  the  "  Week,"  which  is  well  known, 
was  written  in  the  winter  of  1847-48,  soon  after  Thoreau  had  given  up 
the  hut  at  Walden  and  while  he  was  living  with  the  Kmersons.  lender 
date  of  January  13,  1848,  Alcott  has  this  note  in  his  diary:  "  Henry 
Thoreau  came  in,  and  we  had  a  good  deal  of  talk  on  the  modes  of  popular 
influence.  He  read  me  a  manuscript  essay  of  his  on  '  Friendship,'  which 
he  has  just  written,  and  which  I  thought  superior  to  anything  I  had 
heard." 

The  writings  of  Thoreau  are  one  of  the  few  remarkable  instances  illus- 
trating the  old  storv  "  Eyes  and  No  Eyes."  In  this  respect  he  was  like 
Robert  Dick  of  Scotland,  Hugh  Miller  and  the  few  others  who  have  found 
wonders  in  their  own  neighborhoods  that  had  never  l)een  thouglit  of  nor 
olrserved  before.  As  ])overtv  comjjelled  the  Scotch  naturalist  and  geologist 
to  center  their  love  of  nat\ire  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  their  own  dwell- 
ing, so  Thoreau  centered  himself  on  Concord  and  the  Merrimac,  though 
from  choice  as  well  as  poverty.     It  was  wonderful  what  he  observed. 

121 


HYMNS 

AND 


In  Three  BOOKS. 

I.  Collefted  from  the  Scriptures. 

II.  Compos'd  on  Divine  Subje6ts. 

III.  Prepared  for  the  Lord's  Supper. 

With  an  ESSAY 

Towards  the  Improvement  of  Chri- 
ftian  Pfl^.lmody^  by  the  Ufe  of  E- 
vangelical  Hymns  in  Worfhip,  as 
well  as  the  Pfaims  of  David. 

By  /.  WATTS. 


Jnd  they  fung  a  new  Songy  flying,  TJmt  art 
rcortJjy,  &c.  for  tJwc  ivajl  Jla'm  and  Ij:jji  re- 
deemed us,  &c.  Rev.  5.  9. 

Soliti  effent  (i.e,  CZ'n/?/j72/).cohvenire  car- 
menque  Chrifio  quaii  Deo  dicere.  Plinha 
in  Efifi. 

LONDON^ 

Printed  by  J.  Humfreys,  for  John  Lflmence, 

at  the  Angel  in  the  Poultrey.     1707. 


1£S 


ISAAC  WATTS 

(1674-1748) 

HYMNS    AND     SPIRITUAL     SONGS.      In 

Three  Books,  etc.  With  an  Essay  Towards  the  Im- 
provement of  Christian  Psahnody,  by  the  Use  of  Evan- 
gehcal  Hymns  in  Worship,  as  well  as  the  Psalms  of 
David.  [Quotation.]  London:  Printed  by  F.  Himi- 
freys,  for  John  Lawrence,  at  the  Angel  in  the  Poultrey, 
1707. 

ISmo,  old  brown  morocco,  gilt  edges.  $250.00 

The  First  Edition  of  tiiis  famous  book.  Isaac  Watts  was  born  at  South- 
ampton, July  17,  16T4,  and  named  for  his  father  who  kept  a  school.  He 
was  the  eldest  of  nine  children.  The  chief  pleasure  of  his  boyhood  was 
found  in  books,  and  whatever  money  he  came  into  possession  of  he  sj^ent 
in  this  way.  He  seems  to  have  inherited  his  love  of  verse-making  from  his 
father,  and  when  not  more  than  seven  or  eight  years  old  amused  himself 
by  writing.  As  he  was  a  nonconformist  he  refused  the  aid  of  friends 
who  were  willing  to  help  him  through  one  of  the  universities,  and  chose 
to  attend  an  academy  where  sons  of  nonconformists  were  educated.  After 
leaving  this  academy  in  1694  he  spent  two  years  and  a  half  at  home.  He 
was  received  into  the  communion  of  the  Southampton  Chapel,  and  during 
these  years  at  home  he  composed  the  majority  of  his  hymns.  The  first  of 
these,  "  Behold  the  Glories  of  the  Lamb,"  was  composed  as  an  improvement 
on  the  hymns  of  William  Barton,  and  others  sung  at  that  time  in  the 
Chapel.  Several  other  hymns  followed.  These  were  circulated  in  manu- 
script, and  given  out  line  by  line  when  sung. 

In  October,  1696,  he  became  tutor  to  the  son  of  Sir  John  HartofiF,  Bart., 
at  Stoke  Newington,  and  this  position  he  held  for  five  years,  devoting  his 
spare  time  to  the  study  of  divinity. 

He  first  appeared  in  the  pulpit  in  1698,  and  a  year  later  had  a  regular 
charge.  His  health  was  never  very  good,  and  at  the  time  of  a  breakdown 
he  was  invited  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Theobalds  in  the  family  of  Sir 
Thomas  Abney.  Here  he  remained  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  in  all  some 
thirty-five  or  thirty-six  years.  When  his  health  and  strength  permitted  he 
went  to  London  to  preach,  and  an  assistant  was  always  ready  when  he  was 
indisposed. 

The  "  Hvmns  and  Spiritual  Songs  "  were  published  in  1707-09,  although 
wTitten  some  years  earlier,  as  we  have  seen.  Watts  became  one  of  the  most 
popular  writers  of  the  day.  His  song  "  How  Doth  the  Little  Busy  Bee?  " 
has  gone  into  innumerable  editions,  in  countless  forms,  through  every  age. 
Equally  familiar  to  ail  of  us  is  "  Dogs  Delight  to  Bark  and  Bite,  for  'Tis 
Their  Nature  To."  His  fame  as  a  poet  depends  upon  the  Hymns,  the 
success  of  which  approached  that  of  the  "  New  Version  of  the  Psalms " 
made  by  Tate  and  Brady.  Many  editions  were  called  for.  As  late  as  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  50,000  copies  were  sold  annually.  His 
Hymns  gave  utterance  to  the  spiritual  emotions  of  the  great  nonconformist 
population,  and  the  singing  of  them  became  a  great  forci-  in  religious 
worship,  which  has  continued  to  this  day.  Everyone  is  familiar  with 
"  Jesus  shall  reign  wher'er  the  sun,"  and  the  still  more  famous  "  When  I 
survey  the  wondrous  Cross."  The  total  number  of  jjieces  in  the  various 
books  amounts  to  more  than  six  hundred,  of  which  about  twelve  are  still 
in  very  general  use. 

123 


IZAAK  WALTON 

(1593-1683) 

THE  LIVES  OF  DR.  JOHN  DONNE,  SIR 
HENRY  WOTTON,  MR.  RICHARD  HOOKER, 
MR.  GEORGE  HERBERT.  Written  by  Izaak 
Walton.  To  which  are  added  some  Letters  written  by 
J^Ir.  George  Herbert,  at  his  being  in  Cambridge;  with 
others  to  his  Mother,  the  Lady  Magdalen  Herbert, 
written  by  John  Donne,  afterwards  Dean  of  St.  Paul's. 
[]Motto.]  London:  Printed  by  Tho.  Newcomb  for 
Richard  Marriott.     Sold  by  most  Booksellers.     1670. 

12mo,  contemporary  calf.  $45.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  portraits  of  Donne,  Wotton,  Hooker,  and  Her- 
bert. This  copy  contains  corrections  in  ink  in  Walton's  handwriting  on 
pages  32  and  33  of  the  "  Life  of  Herbert."  Although  Walton  lived  through 
the  most  exciting  and  changing  period  of  English  history  he  always  re- 
mained the  simple  and  quiet  merchant.  His  books  were  all  written  late  in 
life,  the  first  published  Life,  that  of  Donne,  appearing  when  he  was 
forty-seven  years  old.  The  "  Compleat  Angler"  was  published  when  he 
was  sixty,  the  "  Life  of  Richard  Hooker "  followed  when  he  was  seventy, 
then  came  the  Wotton  and,  when  he  was  eighty-five,  the  "  Life  of  Dr. 
Sanderson."  It  was  shortly  after  the  Restoration  that  Walton  found 
a  home  for  his  old  age  with  George  Morley,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  to  whom 
he  dedicated  his  "Life  of  Richard  Hooker,"  which  was  published  in  1665. 
In  April  of  the  year  1670  appeared  the  "Life  of  George  Herbert,"  and 
in  the  same  year  the  four  lives  [that  of  Dr.  Sanderson  did  not  come  out 
until  later]  were  collected  and  published  in  one  volume,  which  was  also 
dedicated  to  Bishop  Morlev. 

When  the   publisher  advertised  the  first  edition  of  Walton's  "Angler 
he  advertised  it  as  a  book  "  Not  unworthy  the  perusall."    Though  the  same 
announcement  was  not  made  about  Walton's  "  IJves,"  the  reason  was  pos- 
sibly that  it  was  self-evident.     This  has  been  proved  by  the  only  true  test 

time — for  Walton's  "  Lives  "  is  read  to-day  by  those  who  do  not  care  for 

old  Walton  or  his  angling.  The  charm  of  it  lies  in  the  sweet  simplicity 
of  its  style  and  the  interest  of  the  narratives.  Walton  is  the  principal 
character  one  has  in  mind  while  reading  the  book,  not  the  persons  of  whom 
he  writes.     As  Wordsworth  put  it  they  are  merely 

"  Satellites  burning  in  a  lucid  ring 
Around  meek  Walton's  heavenly  memory." 

Yet,  the  "  Lives  "  are  important.  Dr.  John  Donne  is  still  a  Uving  force  in 
poetry,  as  is  also  George  Herbert;  Robert  Sanderson's  influence  remains 
in  the  Prayer  Book;  Richard  Hooker's  "  Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity"  is  a 
standard  text-book  of  theologians;  and  Sir  Henry  Wotton's  experiences  as 
diplomatist  and  courtier  if  not  of  much  value  are  at  least  of  great  mter- 
est.  Walton's  "Lives"  is,  of  course,  the  principal  source  for  their  biog- 
raphy. Incidents  and  events  are  there  related  that  are  not  to  be  found  in 
other  books,  and  they  are  told  in  language  that  is  unsurpassed  for  its  rea- 
lism and  its  simplicity. 

Charles  Lamb  wrote,  in  1816:  "Izaak  Walton  hallows  any  page  m  which 
his  reverend  name  appears." 

124 


GILBERT  WHITE 

(1720-1793) 

THE  XATURAL  HISTORY  AND  ANTIQ- 
UITIES OF  SELBORNE.  [Two  lines.]  With 
Engravings  and  an  Appendix.  [Quotations.]  Lon- 
don: Printed  by  T.  Bensley,  for  B.  White  &  Son,  at 
Horace's  Head,  Fleet  Street.    MDCCLXXXIX. 

4to,  sprinkled  calf.  $75.00 

The  First  Edition,  with  frontispiece,  vignette  on  title,  and  numerous 
illustrations.  Gilbert  White  was  born  July  18,  1720,  at  the  Vicarage  of 
Selborne,  and  christened  in  Selborne  Church  on  August  1,  1720.  "  The 
Natural  History  and  Antiquities  of  Selborne"  was  printed  sixty-eight  years 
later,  in  1788  and  published  in  1789,  as  we  learn  from  an  entry  on  Henry 
White's  journal — "Dec.  3d,  1788.  Hamper  from  London  containing  'ye 
Natural  Historj^  of  Selborne,'  presented  by  ye  Author.  A  very  elegant  4to 
with  Splendid  Engravings  and  curious  invests   [investigations]." 

The  book  was  the  work  of  a  lifetime.  Dr.  Scrope  Beardmore,  of  Oxford, 
said  to  White's  nephew:  "Your  uncle  has  sent  into  the  world  a  publica- 
tion with  nothing  to  call  attention  to  it  but  an  advertisement  or  two  in  the 
newspapers;  but,  depend  upon  it,  the  time  will  come  when  very  few  who 
buy  books  will  be  without  it." 

The  chief  interest  in  the  volume,  ;is  a  piece  of  hookmaking,  centers  in 
the  illustrations,  engraved  by  Peter  Lazell  and  Daniel  Lerpiniere.  These 
comprise  a  vignette  on  the  title-page  to  "  The  Natural  History,"  with  a 
line  from  White's  own  poem,  "The  Invitation  to  Selborne";  seven  plates, 
one,  the  large  folding  frontispiece,  which  is  said  to  contain  portraits  of 
four  of  White's  friends,  and  a  vignette  on  the  title-page  of  "  The  An- 
tiquities." They  are  all  from  drawings  by  a  young  Swiss  artist  named 
Samuel  Hieronymus  Grimm,  who  settled  in  London  in  1778,  and  was 
much  employed  in  typographical  work. 

The  work  appeared  anonymously  at  the  end  of  1788,  but  it  is  dated  the 
next  year.  A  not  too  laudatory  review  of  it  appeared  in  the  Oentleman't 
Magazine  for  1789,  written  by  the  author's  brother,  Thomas  White.  It 
was  sold  for  one  guinea,  in  boards.  Fifty  copies  were  printed  on  large 
paper,  with  the  plate  on  page  3  in  colors.  Although  it  seems  to  have  sold 
well,  it  was  the  only  edition  issued  during  the  author's  lifetime.  White 
wrote  to  a  friend  in  1789:  "My  book  is  still  asked  for  in  Fleet  Street.  A 
gent,  came  the  other  day,  and  said  he  understood  that  there  was  a  Mr. 
White  who  had  lately  published  two  books,  a  good  one  and  a  bad  one; 
the  bad  one  was  concerning  Botany  Bay.  A  Voyage  to  New  South  Wales, 
by  John  White  (no  relation),  published  in  1790;  the  better  respecting  some 
parish."  In  1792,  a  curiously  compressed  edition  was  published  in  Berlin, 
a  fact  which  sufficiently  attests  the  early  success  of  the  book.  Numerous 
editions  have  appeared  since. 

The  index,  which  White  described  when  he  was  making  it  as  "  an  occu- 
pation fully  as  entertaining  as  that  of  darning  stockings,"  was  criticised  as 
not  being  full  enough,  a  criticism  applicable  to  every  edition  issued  since 
the  first. 

The  Qiiarterl}/  Revieio  said,  in  Januarj%  1828:  "White's  delightful  work  is 
no  longer  shut  up  in  a  quarto.  It  is  most  pleasing  to  witness  the  exertions 
made  by  eminent  writers  of  our  time  to  produce  food  for  the  juvenile 
mind.  Shall  we  be  pardoned  for  observing  that  '  The  Natural  History  of 
Selborne '  ought  to  have  a  ])lace  among  the  household  books  of  every 
English  family?" 

125 


JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER 

(1807-1892) 

SNOW-BOUND.      A    Winter    Idyl.      By    John 

Greenleaf  Whittier.     [Vignette.]     Boston:  Ticknor  & 
Fields.    1866. 

12mo,  original  green  cloth.  $3.00 

The  First  Edition,  containing  frontispiece  portrait,  vignette  on  title, 
and  illustrations.  In  "  Snow-Bound  "  Whittier  has  sketched  each  member 
of  the  family  in  which  his  early  days  were  spent.  It  was  written  at  the 
house  at  Ainesbury  the  year  after  the  death  of  his  sister,  Elizabeth,  his 
most  intimate  and  confidential  friend.  The  first  word  of  the  new  poem 
is  found  in  a  note  to  his  publisher,  dated  August  28,  1865:  "I  am  writing 
a  poem,  '  Snow-Bound,  a  Winter  Idyl,'  a  homely  picture  of  old  New 
England  homes.  If  I  ever  finish,  I  hope  and  trust  it  will  be  good."  The 
MS.  was  sent  to  his  publishers  on  October  3,  1805,  when  he  wrote:  "  I  have 
thy  note  of  this  date.  In  answer  I  send  '  Snow-Bound '  to  do  with  as 
seemeth  best  in  thy  sight.  I  shall  see  some  tilings  wrong  when  I  get 
the  proof, — as  it  is  now  I  cannot  do  much  more  with  it,  owing  to  illness. 
I  think  thee  will  like  some  parts  of  the  conclusion.  The  portrait  of  that 
strange  pilgrim,  Harriet  Livermore,  the  erratic  daughter  of  Judge  Liver- 
more  of  New  Hampshire,  who  used  to  visit  us,  is  as  near  the  life  as  I 
can  give  it."     The  book  was  published  in  1866. 

On  January  15,  1867,  thirty  thousand  copies  had  been  sold.  After  it 
had  reached  twenty-four  editions  in  America,  Bennett  reprinted  it  in  Lon- 
don, with  a  portrait  and  illustrations,  where  it  had  an  enormous  sale. 
In  November,  1867,  it  was  issued  on  tinted  paper  with  forty  pictures  by 
Harry  Fenn,  engraved  by  VV.  J.  Linton  and  A.  V.  S.  Anthony.  It  will 
always  remain  one  of  the  most  poj^ular  of  Whittier's  poems,  as  its  beauties 
appeal  to  the  common  as  well  as  to  the  cultured  mind. 

Bayard  Taylor  wrote  to  Whittier,  March  19,  1867:  "Marie  and  I  spent 
a  day  and  a  half  with  Tennyson.  He  gave  us  a  cordial  welcome,  and  in  the 
evening  read  to  us  his  '  Guinevere.'  He  had  Whittier,  in  blue  and  gold, 
on  his  writing-desk,  and  asked  me  a  great  many  questions  about  the  poet, 
which  I  was  glad  io  answer.  It  seems  that  the  success  of  '  Snow-Bound ' 
in  England  has  recalled  attention  to  your  other  poems.  While  I  was  in 
London,  I  was  more  than  once  asked  where  they  could  be  had." 

John  Bright:  "In  the  poem  of  'Snow-Bound'  there  are  lines  on  the 
death  of  the  poet's  sister  wliich  have  nothing  superior  to  them  in  beauty 
and  pathos  in  our  language." 

Born  on  a  farm,  Whittier's  first  occupations  were  those  of  a  farmer's 
boy,  driving  the  cows  to  and  from  the  pasture,  riding  to  mill,  bringing  in 
wood  for  the  kitchen  fire  and  helping  in  the  lighter  labors  of  haying  and 
harvest.  He  was  thus  early  brought  into  that  intimate  communion  with 
mother  earth  and  nature  which  comes  not  by  mere  observation  and  which 
gives  such  a  peculiar  charm  of  picturesque  truth  to  so  many  of  his  poems. 
How  much  he  thus  learned  and  to  how  good  profit  he  put  it  are  visible  in 
many  of  his  poems,  but  especially  in  his  "  Snow-Bound,"  which  in  addition 
to  its  other  merits  has  now  also  a  historical  value  as  a  vivid  picture  of 
modes  of  life  even  then  almost  obsolete,  and  now  almost  as  far  away  as 
those  pictured  by  Homer.  The  scenery  of  New  England,  both  outward 
and  domestic  lives  in  his  verse,  and  nowhere  have  the  nobler  qualities  of 
the  Puritans  found  such  adequate  literary  expression  since  Milton,  as  in 
this  member  of  a  sect  which  they  did  their  utmost  to  suppress. 

126 


WILLIAM  WORDSWORTH 

(1770-1850) 

SAMUEL  TAYLOR  COLERIDGE 

(1772-1834) 

LYRICAL  BALLADS,  WITH  A  FEW  OTH- 
ER POEMS.     London:  Printed  for  J.  &  A.  Arch, 

^  Gracechnrch- Street.    1798. 

18mo,  full  crimson  crushed  levant  morocco,  gilt  top,  uncut.  $55.00 

In  Cottle,  the  Bristol  bookseller  and  poet,  Wordsworth  and  Coleridge 
found  a  friend  whose  appreciation  of  their  genius  took  a  practical  form. 
As  early  as  1795  we  learn  from  a  letter  of  Coleridge  to  Thomas  Poole 
that  "  Cottle  has  entered  into  an  engagement  to  give  me  a  guinea  and  a 
half  for  every  hundred  lines  of  poetry  I  write,  which  will  be  perfectly 
suflBcient  for  my  maintenance,  I  only  amusing  myself  on  mornings;  and  all 
my  prose  works  he  is  anxious  to  purchase."  When  the  two  poets  planned 
to  issue  a  book  in  which  Coleridge  would  show  "  the  dramatic  treatment 
of  supernatural  incidents,"  while  Wordsworth  should  try  to  give  the  charm 
of  novelty  to  "  things  of  ever  [y]  day,"  it  was  Cottle  who  bought  it.  He 
says:  "  A  visit  to  Mr.  Coleridge  at  Stowey  has  been  the  means  of  my  intro- 
duction to  Mr.  Wordsworth,  who  read  me  many  of  his  lyrical  pieces,  when 
I  perceived  in  them  a  peculiar  but  decided  merit.  I  advised  him  to  publish 
them,  expressing  a  belief  that  they  would  be  well  received.  I  further  said 
that  he  should  be  at  no  risk;  that  I  would  give  him  the  same  sum  which 
I  had  given  Mr.  Coleridge  and  Mr.  Southey,  and  that  it  would  be  a  gratify- 
ing circiunstance  to  me  to  usher  into  the  world,  by  becoming  the  publisher 
of,  the  first  volumes  of  three  such  poets  as  Southey,  Coleridge,  and  Words- 
worth— a  distinction  that  might  never  again  occur  to  a  provincial  pub- 
lisher." 

He  gave  Wordsworth  thirty  guineas  for  the  copyright,  and  issued  the 
book  with  the  following  imprint — Bristol:  Printed  by  Biggs  &  Cottle,  for 
T.  N.  Longman,  Pater-Noster  Row,  London,  1798.  But  this  imprint  did 
not  remain  upon  the  title-page  of  the  whole  edition,  for  Cottle  tells  us 
that  the  sale  was  so  slow,  and  the  severity  of  most  of  the  reviews  so  great, 
that  its  progress  to  oblivion  seemed  ordained  to  be  as  rapid  as  it  was 
certain.  He  parted  with  the  largest  proportion  of  the  five  hundred  at  a 
loss,  to  Mr.  Arch,  a  London  bookseller,  who  bound  up  his  copies  with 
a  new  title-page  bearing  his  name.  The  copies  of  the  earlier  issue  are 
very   rare. 

Shortly  after  the  transfer,  Cottle  retired  from  business,  selling  all  his 
copyrights  to  Longman  &  Ilees,  far-sighted  publishers,  both  of  whom  were 
also  Bristol  men.  In  the  transfer  the  copyright  of  the  "  I>yrical  Ballads  " 
was  down  in  the  bill  as  worth  nothing,  whereupon  Cottle  begged  the 
receipt  for  the  thirty  guineas,  and  presented  it  to  Wordsworth. 

The  work  was  entirely  anonymous,  with  nothing  to  show  that  it  was  a 
joint  production.  Coleridge's  poem,  "  Nightingale,"  inserted  at  tlie  last 
minute  in  place  of  "  Lewti,"  makes  an  extra  leaf  between  pages  fi8  and  ()9. 
It  is  numbered  69  (the  verso  is  blank),  but  no  ai)pareiit  confusion  results 
since  the  original  page  69  is  not  numbered,  in  accordance  with  the  print- 
er's scheme  of  numbering. 

127 


EMILE  ZOLA 

(1840-1902) 

,LES  TROIS  VILLES;  LOURDES,  PAR 
EMILE  ZOLA.  Paris:  Bibliotheque-Charpentier,  G. 
Charpentier  et  E.  Fasquelle,  Editeurs,  11,  Rue  de 
Crenelle,  11.     1894.     Tous  Droits  Reserves. 

8vo,  original  paper  covers.  $5.00 

The  First  Edition.  Zola  was  born  in  Paris,  April  2,  1840.  His  father 
was  an  engineer  in  charge  of  rather  extensive  works  at  Aix,  where  the 
family  lived  for  some  years.  In  1847  the  elder  Zola  died,  and  the  widow 
and  son  returned  to  Paris  where  the  young  Zola  was  placed  at  school. 
His  education  was  never  a  great  success,  and  was  abandoned  after  u 
time.  He  suffered  greatly  from  poverty,  and  learned  to  know  the  bitter- 
ness of  life. 

At  last  he  found  employment  with  Hachette,  the  publisher,  at  first  as 
■a,  packer  and  later  as  a  clerk  in  the  publishing  department.  This,  of  neces- 
sity, brought  him  into  contact  with  many  authors  and  journalists,  and 
in  this  way  he  obtained  an  introduction  to  the  literary  world. 

His  first  book  was  published  in  1871,  and  by  that  time  his  name  was 
fairly  well  known  to  the  reading  public.  He  had  a  profoimd  hatred  for 
the  Romantic  School,  and  he  deliberately  adopted  the  extreme  realism 
which  has  always  distinguished  his  novels. 

The  notes  for  his  novels  were  usually  made  on  small  pieces  of  paper, 
and  he  would  often  stop  in  the  most  public  places  to  scribble  some- 
thing down. 

Zola  was  always  the  center  of  some  discussion.  He  was  mixed  u]^  in 
politics,  and  his  books  and  realistic  methods  came  in  for  much  discussion. 
But  these  were  all  outside  matters  to  Zola.  His  life  was  one  of  continuous 
domestic  peace  and  happiness.  He  had  been  bitterly  poor,  but  his  novels 
brought  him  a  large  fortune.  He  had  a  house  in  Paris  and  a  villa  in 
the  country.  His  method  was  to  work  steadily:  to  have  always  something 
at  hand.  "  Lourdes  "  was  published  in  1894.  It  is  the  first  volume  of  his 
trilogy,  known  as  "  Les  Trois  Villes,"  the  other  volumes  of  which  are 
"  Rome  "  (1896)  and  "  Paris"  (1898).  "  Lourdes  "  soon  went  into  the  "  In- 
dex Expurgatorius "  at  Rome,  and  gave  very  great  offence  to  the  Cath- 
olic Church.  Zola  remarked  upon  this  that  it  only  served  to  advertise 
the  "forbidden"  book  even  among  Catholics.  He  added:  "In  1860  Pius 
IX,  in  a  fit  of  passion  with  Alexandre  Dumas,  because  the  latter  supported 
Garibaldi,  caused  all  his  novels  to  be  placed  in  the  Index.  But  does 
anybody  imagine  that  this  prevented  people   from  reading  them?" 

Zola's  position  in  literature  must  be  judged  from  the  purpose  of  his 
work;  and  there  are  many  who^taking  the  series  of  the  "  Rougon-Mac- 
quart "  novels  singly  and  not  in  their  proper  order,  possibly  come  to  an 
erroneous  conclusion.  Commencing  with  "  Les  Fortunes  des  Rougon  "  and 
ending  with  that  almost  unequalled  novel  of  power,  "  Le  Debacle,"  the  his- 
tory of  a  family  of  wealth  addicted  mainly  to  a  pleasure-seeking  life  is 
powerfully  told  to  the  inevitable  end  of  wretchedness,  misery,  want  and 
vice.  Heredity  is  the  main  theme,  weakness  of  character  the  starting  point, 
but  minutely,  brutally,  if  you  will,  the  history  of  the  family  is  traced 
through  its  descendants  of  two  generations  to  its  extinction.  Consid- 
ered as  a  whole  the  series  of  romances  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  that 
has  ever  been  written.  Outside  this  series,  Zola's  novels  were  more  ideal- 
istic than  realistic,  aiming  as  in  "  Lourdes "  and  "  Rome "  for  certain 
'definite  ends. 

128 


UNIVERSITYOFCA)  IX  .-■:\,  \    \:,'-.   W.mjs 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

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